


Running To Find the Light

by Kyia



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Depression, Emotional Baggage, Environmental Nerdiness, F/M, Healing, Hope, Self Destructive Tendancies, Shyness, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Snark, Swearing, Unconfirmed Plotlines, farming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-05-19 13:58:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14875071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyia/pseuds/Kyia
Summary: She ran away to find herself again.Currently, shes unsure how well that's working, but like everything else its a work in progress.Pelican Town isn't the city, but its supposed to be a new life.Its new alright, but the monsters in her sleep and her heart have followed her here.Can the people, the land, and the magic within them help her find herself again?Or is this another waking tomb?





	1. A Change in the Air

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Welcome to my fic!  
> This is a note to let you know that I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING.  
> I've written before, I'm rusty. 
> 
> This is partially inspired by quite a few fics, most of which will have left some type of imprint on this, either in story ideas or in lines that were just too damn good.  
> Finding Home Again: GrapefruitSpritzer (https://archiveofourown.org/works/13894998/chapters/31974108)  
> The Runaway Dream: Rainbownomja (https://archiveofourown.org/works/12987366/chapters/29693691)  
> and A Drop Echoes in the Hollow: andagiiwrites (https://archiveofourown.org/works/11981631/chapters/27101655)  
> All of which are awesome, all of which are epic and all of which have helped me get off my tail and write something of my own. 
> 
> I must confess that unlike my other works, this is not nearly as well fleshed out. I'm still figuring out plot points, what I want to talk about or happen, how things work, etc.  
> There is a possibility of excessive editing. Bare with me.  
> I don't know where I'm going with this, but I think that based on my own life and situation at the moment, that this fic is both for my sanity, as well as a form of therapy and wish fulfillment. Many days so far I have wished to switch places with my character and go live in Stardew instead of here. So this character and her situation are heavily drawn from my own experiences currently, or past experiences.  
> I welcome critiques, kudos or comments! Doing so will help me with the whole updating often thing!  
> Let me know what you think, and I hope to see you soon! 
> 
> PS: I'm trying out dictation as a method of writing faster than I can with typing. My mic doesn't always understand english, and I know that I haven't caught all the little messups that it's inserted into my chapters with me reading it as real english that makes sense. If you catch something that doesn't make sense, let me know, ok?

Within his tower, the wizard felt something shift. Initially he wasn’t certain what it was, but something made him believe but it had something to do with the Valley. Somehow it felt familiar; it took him awhile to figure out why. But the trace sense he felt, reminded him of someone he hadn’t seen in many years. His curiosity piqued, the wizard donned a spell of invisibility and worked his way through the village. What he discovered, was excitement. It appeared as though a long lost grandchild was returning to a place their ancestor had claimed as home.

Pelican Town was excited. Lewis, the Mayor, brought news that the great granddaughter of the farmer that have lived at Nightshade Farm wanted to return and reclaim her inheritance. Apparently the farm had been left to her, and now she wanted to claim it. Robin, the carpenter, was equally excited, as the news of the prodigal granddaughter’s return probably meant new business for her.

The farm was run down. While the former occupants had been loved, their son had been less appreciated. In fact it was the farmers granddaughter that had come to reclaim the former farmer, when he grew too old to run the farm himself. He had been missed, and his farm had been slowly reclaimed by the forest. It was a few years later that the residents of Pelican Town heard of his death.

For a few years, the land languished. It found another use, when the younger generation of townsfolk decided to use it as a secluded hideaway to party. Luckily, Robin was quite stern and ensured that her children made sure it was in good repair. She had liked the old farmer and his wife. When she was struggling with a young child, trying to get her business started, they had fed her and kept her going with produce from their garden. They helped her when her husband had left, and Luigi had adored Sebastian. In fact a few pictures could still be found of tiny toddlers, now grown, playing with him. He had been quite fond of children, his own and his neighbors.

The townsfolk had a space of two weeks before the great grandchild was going to arrive, and Robin made sure to pass the word around that all the young folk were responsible for cleaning the cabin and making a presentable for the new occupant, before she could even ensure it was presentable. She spoke to her daughter Maru, and her son Sebastian, who spread the word to Sam and Abigail, and the word found its way around town. Thus, on a Friday night about a week before the new citizen was supposed to arrive, the younger generation of townsfolk journeyed to the farm. They came with buckets and mops, brooms and cloths, ready to clean what may have been left from former escapades of theirs.

It was a small cabin, and having cleaned it, the youngsters of Pelican Town regarded it quietly.

“This is it?” asked Alex, a muscular young athlete with striking green eyes and ruffled brown hair. “This is what she’s going to live in?”

The group of eight young adults stared at the room. It was barren. As you entered the room, to your left was a tiny bathroom and laundry set. The back wall held some cabinets, a sink, a mini fridge, and a hot plate on a counter. A tiny window looked out over overgrown foliage. The adjoining living room was also tiny. A large brick hearth sat in the middle of the wall. The firewood holder was empty. It had been recently cleaned, and no ashes were in the fireplace. The old clock on the mantel had been stopped long ago. The room had an old television, a small banged up coffee table, and a couch that had seen better days. There was a table with two chairs. Rickety stairs squeaked to the right, and the second floor held two rooms. One was supposed to be the master, but it was empty except for the bed. There was a musty closet, and what would have been a nice view if you considered messy green a view. The bathroom was dingy and dated, and somewhere in the hall was a linen cupboard. Granted, the former part time tenants had left their speaker set up inside, figuring that everyone appreciated music, the interior was otherwise desolate.

Generally the house was empty, dust motes danced in the light. Apparently the son of the farmer wasn’t too pleased he hadn’t been willed the land. He and his wife had come back after the farmer had died, and removed anything they wanted. The only reason the house still had a few amenities was because those that had cleaned it had ensured it had been stocked for when they needed it.

But using it as a crash pad was one thing, looking at it as if you were going to live there made the emptiness desolate, and sad.

“From what moms told me, this girl is looking for a new start, and she’s alone. Coming into this with nothing, she’ll have to start from square one.” Maru, the daughter of the Carpenter, exclaimed.

“What you propose we do?” Penny tipped her head to the side, her auburn hair catching the last of the winter light as she regarded Maru questioningly.

“Well, we can’t let this be the first thing she sees. We’ve gotta have some furniture somewhere right? Stuff we don’t need? Stuff we don’t use? Even if it’s just temporary, just so that this doesn’t seem so sad.” Blond spiky hair quivered as Sam looked around at his compatriots.

“Lonely.” A well dressed gentleman with long wavy hair offered. His hands on his hips, Elliott stared at the room with a frown.

“Why should we care again?” a fashionably dressed blond asked as she looked between Sam and Alex.

“Because Haley, the family who lived here cared for us all.” Another figure said. Rifling through the pack she had brought, Emily drew out a picture and handed it to her sister. The picture showed a toddler in a high chair with a blond mop of hair, obviously using the weathered fingers of an old man to teeth on. The group crowded around to see.

“That was the guy who lived here?” asked Sam, as he peeked over Maru’s head. Emily smiled.

“That was the man I knew as Sho-sho. He was our adopted grandfather, and according to mom he loved children.”

“That aside,” another ginger said “we have been partying at his house, and if the man was as good to you guys as you say, do we not kinda owe it to his family to make sure they’re taken care of?” Leah scratched the back of her head as she looked around the room at her cohorts.

“I’m gonna go home and see what Gran and gramps might have that they aren’t using any more. Hopefully we might have a bed spread at least.” Alex started, gathering his cleaning supplies as he went for the door. Haley looked at Emily.

“Don’t we have few shelves in storage? Maybe a few plates and pans if nothing else.”

“Good idea, let’s go look.” Her sister agreed.

One by one the group went off into the sunset, while a few stayed to clean up some more. A little while later, most of those who had departed came back carrying goods. Others joined the parents of youngsters who had heard of the predicament and wanted to see what they could bring.

The bedroom suddenly had a night table, and a bookshelf. The downstairs had added to it, a desk, a full set of cutlery and plates, and another shelf. The pantry was cleaned out, although the fridge was still full of beer. The Mullners, Alex’s grandparents, gave the Alex a spare bedspread, with a warm comforter. Penny and Maru made the bed until it looked comfy enough to curl into. Robin sent her son Sebastian over with a wheelbarrow full of scrap wood for the fireplace. Sam helped him put it away outside, while Abigail went back for another load of the carpenter scraps. They didn’t have anything to decorate it with, but at the end of the evening the house looked like someone could move in. They all went home that night happy, hoping the new farmer would enjoy the touches they’d added, hoping that the new farmer might see it as a home.

A moving truck arrived that weekend, and dropped off boxes and some furniture. Not much, but obviously things that couldn’t be brought in a car. A desk or two, computer, some kitchen things, a few blankets and a few boxes of books and other items. Obviously this new arrival liked to read.

Robin and Lewis were there to meet it, and it turned out that the gentleman there was the new farmer’s father. His message was that their new arrival was on her way.

 

Within his tower, the Wizard pondered why this new arrival was being brought to his attention at all, another mortal in a town full of mortals was nothing new or different. But this mortal excited the land as well as the people, something Rasmodious had not felt in a long time.

He decided to wait and see what this meant.


	2. A Single Step

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A start of a journey- blah blah blah.   
> A new house, a new place, a familiar space.   
> So we begin.

A black car pulled into the tiny parking lot that served Stardew Valley. It moved to the opposite end of the lot from the bus that sat in one space, hopefully closer to the farm the driver was seeking. Having backed into the space, the driver turned off the engine and sat back in her chair.

She was hot and sweaty, her tanktop clinging to her skin, but she just took a moment to breath.

“In _2.5 km, you will arrive at_ -“

“Shut up you miserable piece of technology.” She growled at the voice that interrupted the last piece of the lecture she had been busy ignoring for the past hour of driving. She turned off the navigation on her phone and the audiobook that she’d completely been ignoring for the better part of the past hour.

The landscape around her was green. Everything was in full gorgeous bloom of springtime, a delightful change from her hometown 6 hours away. But the doubt kept gnawing at her insides.

What was she doing here?

A banging on the top of her car roof brought her back to reality, and to a ginger haired woman grinned outside her door.

“Hi there, you must be Fáelán!” she said cheerily. Fáelán swallowed and returned the grin, pulling her keys from the ignition and getting out of the car.

“Robin I presume?” she asked, offering her hand.

“Yes indeed!” said Robin, returning the handshake with a firm grip. “Good to finally meet you!”

“Likewise Robin.” The carpenter peered into the car that was stuffed full of items and goods.

“Got a bit to move over then?” Fáelán shrugged.

“Not that much, considering my whole life is in my car.”

“As well as a moving truck.” Fáelán grinned.

“Met my Dad did you? Did he talk your ear off too?” Robin laughed.

“Nah, he’s good. I liked him.” Fáelán nodded. “Well, come on! Mayor Lewis sent me to fetch you and bring you to your new home. He’s out there now making sure things are good for your arrival.” Robin eyed her cargo. “Your Dad gave me a heads up that you’d be well loaded, so I brought my wheelbarrow and arms to help you unload!” Fáelán gave her a shy smile before replying.

“I’m grateful for the help, but maybe we should go see the mayor first? I’ll just grab these..” She went around to the passenger’s side door and obtained a small box full of green plants. “Just so they don’t burn.” Robin nodded and gestured to the path at the end of the parking lot.

“Follow me.”

The path to the farm wasn’t long, and Fáelán kept pace with Robin the entire way, trying to steel her nerves for seeing the old place again. It’d been years since she had been here, and now she was coming to a place she barely remembered to live. It was more than a little nerve wracking.

Robin paused at the corner of a veranda surrounding the smallish house she remembered from her youth.

“Well, this is it, Nightshade Farm.” She gestured at the land beyond the house. The land that she remembered to be in well ordered rows and sprawling gardens was quite overgrown. Rocks poked their heads out of the soil, while dropped pieces of wood were scattered in between verdant grasses. Fáelán tried not to lose her composure at the amount of work she’d not anticipated to get the place running, let alone smoothly. She blinked behind her sunglasses before setting down the box of plants to get a better look.

The forest had crept into the land she remembered. She remembered running through fields of green, and between towering trees, swimming in the pond that was within sight of the house, and finding warmth in the greenhouse a bit away from the house.

The greenhouse was in ruins, and trees grew so thickly that she barely knew where to start, let alone find the pond she’d learn to swim in. She closed her eyes under the glasses and took a deep breath. The carpenter seemed to sense her thoughts.

“Hey, don’t get discouraged. There’s still some good soil under these weeds.” At that, Fáelán gave a soft smile.

“Oh, that I remember. But I remember my Sho-sho could make anything grow in anything too. It makes the whole thing a bit more daunting if I think about my track record with plants.”

“Well, you’ve got these. They look healthy.” Robin indicated the box of brilliantly green plants and Fáelán smiled shyly.

“Good point, thanks for reminding me.” Robin nodded before she gestured towards the house.

“Viola, your new home.” She said cheerfully. The front door opened and a grey mustached gentleman in a newsboy cap came out.

“Ah, the new farmer!” he said before walking out and shaking her hand. “Welcome! I’m Lewis, the Mayor of Pelican Town.”

“Pleasure to meet you Sir.” Fáelán replied.

“Don’t call me Sir. Lewis or Mayor will do.” He replied.

“Yessir.” Was her automatic reply.

“Was that a joke?”

“Nosir.” Replied Fáelán. Behind him, Robin chuckled before they all turned and looked at the house.

“So you’re moving into your great grandfather’s old cottage then. It’s a good house, very rustic.”

“Its been recently cleaned out and turned into something more than a dusty shell.” Robin chimed in. Fáelán cocked her head at the carpenter before turning to look back at the cottage. The mayor and the carpenter shared a look behind her back as they noticed her lips press into a thin line.

“Its not exactly how I remember it.”

“Your grandfather wasn’t overly pleased that you were willed the deed to this place.”

“I’m… aware that my grandfather isn’t the most pleasant of people Mayor.” She responded.

“Well,” Robin nudged Fáelán gently. “If you need an upgrade you can get a hold of me to do the work!” Lewis spun round to stare angrily at the lady.

“Rude Robin! Let her get accustomed to the house before you start trying to sell her things!” Robin chuckled as Lewis fumed for a moment.

“I’m sure that in the future I may take you up on that Robin,” replied Fáelán, taking her sunglasses off to observe the place more closely. “I want to do well by my Sho-sho and Nona, and that may be a good way to take care of this place.” Lewis nodded, pleased that the new farmer appeared to have a healthy respect for the past.

“Everyone is excited to meet you, we don’t get new people often and your arrival has been much anticipated by the community.” The mayor segued into the subject change easily. “You should get some rest tonight and explore the town tomorrow.”

“What Lewis means is that you should start unpacking a bit first.” Robin grinned at her. “Maybe we should start by going inside?” she gestured to the door as Lewis handed the newcomer her key.

“Thank you Lewis and Robin. You’re right.” Lewis smiled as he tipped his hat to the women.

“I’m sure I’ll see you soon Fáelán. Let me know if you run into any trouble.” He started to walk away, but stopped before he got too far, indicating a wooden box beside the edge of the property. “Oh! If you have anything you wish to sell, just drop it in here. I’ll come by in the night and take it off to where it can be sold and I’ll leave you your earnings in the mail the next day.” Fáelán nodded.

“Thankyou Lewis. I appreciate the information.” The mayor left as the new occupant opened the door to her new home.

It had been spruced up a little, but in comparison to what she remembered, it was not the same place. She recognized the fireplace and the kitchen table, even the silly old TV and the ugly bathroom. All of her things from the moving truck were stacked up along the wall beside the door. A full wall of boxes, mostly of books.

She noticed her dad had set up a bookshelf against the wall beside the fireplace and had filled the shelves in the kitchen with a few cans of food. The wood box was full, something Robin pointed out with glee as something her children had done on her recommendation.

“Well, I hope your children are as incredibly kind as you are.” She said as she walked upstairs, Robin blushing behind her. The bedroom upstairs she didn’t remember much of, but she didn’t recognize the green comforter and comfy looking pillows. Tipping her head to the side, she observed them. Seeing her gaze, Robin spoke softly.

“When your grandparents stripped this place, the kids in town made it their crashpad. When I told them they needed to clean it before you moved in, they decided that if you were moving cross region for such a place that had been stripped, they all dipped into their storage spots and pulled out what you were missing to make it more of a home for you.”

The newcomer sniffed slightly, incredibly touched and doing her best to hide it, and failing. Robin gave her a pat on the shoulder before pulling the girl into a hug.

“We’re not as interesting as big city folk, but we take care of our own. You’re new here, but don’t ever think to not ask for help if you need it. We’ll do what we can.”

“Thank you.” Fáelán responded sincerely, too touched to really say anything else. Robin handed her a Kleenex and hooked a thumb in the direction of her car.

“Come on, I’ll help you unload and unpack a bit. Then I’ll let you get settled in.”

Between the two of them, Fáelán had her kitchen in somewhat functional manner before too long, and before leaving Robin gave her instructions on how she could be found as well as a map of the area. She took off up the pathway that lead north off the farm and left Fáelán to sit on the veranda in front of her front door.

Looking out over the land, she decided the best thing to do would be to start with the tools that Robin had found for her. She eyed the ax and the land around her new cottage. Lots of trees that would need to be cut, rocks to till out of the soil, so many things to do and she hadn’t even been there a full night yet.

She took a deep breath to help herself not get overwhelmed. Standing, she returned to the cottage to collect her thoughts and change. She and Robin had already hauled up all the boxes labeled books and clothes to the room overlooking the farm, and it was there she went to find some work clothes. She removed the yoga pants she was wearing and the belt with the pouches she wore when she didn’t have pockets to hold things.

She traded it for some decent shorts and a sturdy belt, from which she hung her knife and a gathering bag. Applying sunscreen, she slipped on heavy sandals and went outdoors again, pulling her long dark braided hair into a bun and securing it with a chopstick to keep it off the back of her neck, she selected the scythe and the ax, but leaned the ax against the veranda to start with the scythe. She just wanted to be able to _see_ the land that she’d be working with before she even tried to figure out what to do next.

Clearing a path to the small pond to the side of the property wasn’t hard, but she tripped over old logs once or three times on her way there, another thing to fix.

Finally she made it to the small pond amongst the trees that she remembered so well. She’d learned to swim here when she was young, and the memories of this particular part of the farm were strong. Laying her scythe down, she planted her feet in the water and let the coolness work away the sweat on her skin.

She took a deep breath, taking in the scent of forest and water, feeling a sense of peace envelop her. It was good to be back, even if it was different, it was still the same place she’d dreamed of for all those years away.

She didn’t feel like going and seeing people, but decided that if she was going to get the best use out of the land, she’d better have an idea of how big it was and where everything was first.

Going back to the house, she fished out a small notebook and a pen before heading back out again; making sure her scythe was back with the rest of her tools before going any further.

She made a list of what she wanted to start with, and what she wanted in general, making a note to see Robin about what kind of structures were worth building out here and what she’d charge for them to be built.

According to her correspondence with the carpenter before she’d arrived, the land was still fertile, and the small ponds on her land were clean to swim in, so if she wanted animals that would be something to consider as well.

She also made a note to check out how she might get internet out here. She didn’t want to use data on her phone if she could help it. Also, how to make a compost bin would be helpful, it was another thing she jotted down in the book.

She was amused to see the fire pit her Sho-sho had put in for she and her siblings to have wiener roasts in was swept clean of ashes. Apparently Robin had put the fear of Gods into whoever had been responsible for cleaning this place.

She was grateful the carpenter was around, it felt good to have someone who she felt she could trust out here.

 

The sun was setting as she had finished wandering through the brush, and she desperately wanted food and a shower before she fell into bed, already thinking of the seeds she wanted to plant as spring got underway.

She managed an egg on toast before she prepped her tiny coffee pot for the next morning. Gods forbid she do much without coffee. People tended to be injured when she didn’t have coffee in the morning, or at least tea.

Managing a quick shower, she fell into bed with her hair in a towel before setting her alarm for the next morning. Her new life was ready to begin.

 

Her new life started the next day, with her alarm clock going off at 5:30 AM. The ring was ungodly sounding, but she had done that on purpose to ensure she got up. As a result she pulled herself out of bed, grumbling all the way, and went downstairs to make some food. She started her coffee, before sitting down at the table to quickly check the weather, and anything else that was interesting. While listing it to the TV, she made herself some breakfast, and finally managed to sit down with a cup of coffee. She found an interesting little show called “living off the land”, and perused that as she ate. It gave her some interesting tidbits to start with. Having eaten, she changed into work clothes, brushed her teeth, did her hair, and washed her face.

Droplets dripping from her nose, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was so dark as to almost be black, neatly braided. Her skin was pale, having a mild tint of olive. This morning, her eyes were cloudy blue. She was used to her eyes changing colors, or at least shades. Her mother had always called them her “dragon eyes”, like her father’s. Her ears were slightly pointed, and the piercing she wore in them only added to her appearance. She could’ve been said to have had an otherworldly beauty if she actually acknowledged it herself.

As it was, she looked it herself in the mirror, and repeated her mantra.

“You cannot fail. Let’s go.”

 

On her veranda, she found a package containing 15 parsnip seeds, an envelope full of money, and a note from Mayor Lewis, indicating that this money was to help get her started. Grabbing her tools, she started to clear away the detritus of years. Soon, her arms were aching, as was her back. Clearing old logs, and stones too big to throw into a bucket, was significantly harder then it looked. She kept them though, having played enough video games, she knew that everything could be useful, even if she didn’t yet know how. She was sure that when she was ready to expand her facilities, that the builders could probably use the material. Maybe it would even reduce the cost.

She wasn’t new to gardening, her Sho-sho had had a greenhouse in the city, and she recalled fondly helping him plant tomatoes. Having been a gardener during the summers, seed planting wasn’t new to her. The clearing was difficult, the gardening wasn’t. The parsnips planted, she decided to go into town to see what other seeds she could buy.

She washed her face clean of dirt, gathered a tote bag having remembered the suggestion from that show she’d seen, made sure she looked mostly presentable, and headed off to town. Along the way she gathered a few flowers, and mentally marked out where she saw a wild horse radish to gather later. She figured that she would be living a lot off forged foods, until she can afford something different. She had some experience with wild food, but had never really taken to eating dandelion greens, and figured there was no time like the present.

The town square was beautiful, rustic even. She liked it at once. Cobblestones paved the pathways under her feet, and as she walked it felt different than street concrete. It was a nice change and she let the pads of her feet get used to the new sensation.

The town square had some beautiful ancient trees surrounding it, and Fáelán was instantly captivated by them. The tiny flower boxes dotting the area made her face breakout in the smile. Flowers and greenery always made are happy. She saw the general store, and started making her way towards it. It was almost lunchtime, so she wasn’t sure she should anticipate seeing people. But the square was empty, and she paused outside the general store to observe a bulletin board. She was surprised to see a calendar marked with names of townsfolk she hadn’t met yet. This must be the community birthday calendar. Pulling out her phone, she snapped a few pictures of it to mark in her journal later.

It wouldn’t be a bad thing to keep on top of birthdays, that’s usually a good way to make friends.

Walking inside, the store owner waved at her.

“You must be the new farmer! I’m Pierre, owner of the local general store. If you’re looking for seeds or anything else, my store is the place to go. Let me know if you have any questions, or if I can help you with anything.” Fáelán bowed her head slightly, and smiled at him.

“Good to meet you, Pierre. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other through the year.” He gave her a winning smile, and nodded at her.

“The seeds are just over here.” He indicated a spinning shelf, and she was happy to browse. She compared what she knew about seeds and the vegetables they grew, to the instructions on the back the packages. Using her phone, she snapped a few pictures for reference, and pulled out a few to purchase and plant that day.

“Just these please.” She said politely, passing him the gold to pay. He grinned at her, winking a brown eyed behind glasses at her.

“See you soon!” he responded before turning to the next person in line behind her. A lady stepped up to the counter. She had dark bushy hair and a red jumper over green shirt. Her mouth was surrounded by smile lines, and she exuded warmth that made Fáelán feel at home.

“Hullo Miss Fáelán!” she greeted, “I’m Marnie, the local rancher. I live just down from your farm, and if you have any questions about animals you can come see me at any time!”

“Would I come see you are interested in buying any animals?” Fáelán asked. Marnie smiled.

“Oh yes, animals, anything to do with animals, I’m quite glad to be able to make them my business.” Her attention was taken by Pierre asking for payment, and Fáelán slipped away in the lull.

She noticed another person in the store, a girl of about her own age with brilliant purple hair. Fáelán was instantly jealous. As she approached, the girl waved her over.

“I heard that someone new was moving onto that old farm. It’s kind of a shame really; I always enjoyed exploring those overgrown fields by myself.” Despite herself, Fáelán found herself grinning.

“They’re still pretty overgrown if you wanted to keep coming by for exploration purposes. I may need someone to come dig me out from a moving bush or something.” The girl raised her eyebrow.

“You have moving bushes?” she asked. Fáelán shrugged.

“You never know, I’m half expecting the forest to try and eat me any time I wander into it.” The stranger laughed, and Fáelán was pleased her attempt at humour was working so far.

“I might do that then! I’m Abigail. You’re alright for a newcomer.”

“I hope to not disappoint.” Fáelán replied a little shyly.

“Nah, I think you’ll do fine.” Abigail grinned at her.

“I kind of need to get going, I need to plant these before the days up so they can get growing faster, but at some point I wouldn’t mind hanging out if you were open to it.” Fáelán offered, feeling her gut roil as she asked the question. To her mild surprise, Abigail was nodding enthusiastically.

“That sounds good actually, my friends Sebastian and Sam and I meet up on Fridays at the saloon. Do you know of it?”

“Saloon?” Fáelán cocked her head to the side, trying to recall if she had seen a saloon.

“The Stardrop Saloon. It’s basically our local bar, and it’s just across the way from here.”

“Oh that’s what that building is?”

“Yup! We usually meet there at about three, there’s a back room with an arcade and a pool table and stuff. We usually hang out there. Do you want to come this week?” Fáelán shrugged.

“Sounds like a good way to end a week to me.”

“Great! I look forward to seeing you there!”

“Abigail!” the girls heard Pierre call from the till.

“Oops, I’ll talk to you later, ok?”

“You bet. Have a good day Abigail.” Fáelán waved at her new acquaintance before walking out the door with her purchases, and back to work the farm.

The rest of the day was spent planting her remaining crops, and clearing as much of the land as she could. She started making a compost bin behind the cottage, so she would have somewhere to dispose of all the organic matter she couldn’t use. Before heading for supper, she ensured that all of her crops were watered, and that her tools were put away.

She barely remembered eating, or passing out. She did remember to set her alarm to be able to repeat the process the next day.


	3. Fishing, Work and Saloon Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The week continues and Fáelán is introduced to more of the townsfolk.

5:30 AM dawned far too early for her taste. Fáelán repeated the routine from yesterday, but instead of finding a package from Lewis, she found a letter from a gentleman named Willy.

 _Fishing?_ She thought after reading the message. Then she shrugged. It couldn’t hurt to at least visit the guy. Besides, there was a beach. She never lived anywhere with a beach.

Her plan solidified, she set to work on watering and pulling any weeds she could find. Recognizing a few she set them aside to be washed and eaten later. Others, she set aside for processing into remedies. Standing up, she pressed a hand to her lower back. She pulled out a few more logs and a few rocks, setting them into their respective piles. Seeing that her farm work was basically completed, she watched her face with pond water, put away her tools, gathered her notebook and her satchel, and consulted a map she received that morning from Robin. The map showed Pelican Town, and on the back there was a list of names corresponding to addresses. Showing her who lived in which residence. She was quite grateful for it, and meant to send Robin a thank you note as soon as possible. Figuring out where this Willy lived, she made a note in her notebook about the thank you, and walked off for the beach.

Along the way ash was making her way down the beach, she saw a youngster in a red stripes shirt. He seemed to be making his way in a specific direction, but as he passed Fáelán waved to him, and the youngster came over to introduce himself.

“Hi!” he said excitedly. “My name’s Vincent.”

“Good to meet you Vincent,” she replied digging in her satchel for a flower she’d found, and offering it to him.

“Oh wow, for me? This is awesome!” he took the daffodil in his hand and grinned up at her. “Thanks Miss!”

“Fáelán please, don’t worry about miss.”

“OK Fáelán. I got to get to school now, I hope I’ll see you again” his brown eyes sparkled under a mess of spiky hair. Fáelán couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m sure you will.” She waved at the boy as he went one way and she continued towards the beach.

She continued down to where she could hear the ocean, and found a pier upon which a building of some sort sat. At the end of that pier was a man, smoking a pipe. He wore a fisherman’s cap, and workman's clothes. His skin was weathered and dark, and for some reason she was instantly reminded of her Sho-sho.

“Hullo?” she called as she approached him.

“Ahoy there Miss” he turned and tipped his hat to her, the smoke curling out of his pipe mingling with a signal of the salt in the air. “I heard there was a newcomer in town, good to finally meet ya.”

“Willy I presume?” she asked. He tipped his cap again and grinned that her.

“You’d be right.” he took the pipe out of his mouth as he turned to her. “I'm still trying to unwind from a month out on the salty seas. I got a lot of good fish! It was a good haul.” the fishermen observed her. “You're definitely Luigi’s blood.” she nodded in reply.

“I'm his great granddaughter.”

“Did your Sho-sho teach you how to fish?” she grimaced at his question.

“No, Sho-sho didn't fish. Not as far as I knew anyway. My grandpa took me fishing, but didn't teach me much.”

“Ah, I remember your grandfather. Despite my pappy being a fisherman, he tried to tell me my Pappy was wrong and how I could do a better.” he inhaled through his pipe as he watched her.

“I'm sorry about that. My grandfather is-” she trailed off, seeking the best way to describe him. She was going to say an “unpleasant person”, but she caught a glimpse of his bemused expression and changed her mind.

“No, my grandfather's just a dick.” Willie laughed at the statement.

“I like you girl! Do you know why your grandpa never taught you how to fish?” he asked.

“I'm pretty sure it's because I'm a girl. He was always so much more thrilled with my brothers.” Willie gave her a sympathetic glance.

“Well, in my experience woman or man to be great fishers. It's all in the practice. I got an old rod you can have. I like to see the art o’ fishing staying alive, and hey maybe you'll buy somethin’ from the shop once in a while.” he handed her an old bamboo rod, and she took it gratefully. “There’s good water here in the valley, all kinds o’ fish living in it.”

“How do I know what kind of fish I catch? Assuming I catch any at all.”

“Good question lass.” he handed her book. “This should tell you all of the fish in the valleys waters, so if you catch somethin just look it up.”

“Thank you so much Willy, I'm very grateful. Although, I still have no idea what I'm doing” she said ruefully. He chuckled at that.

“Com’ere then” he said gesturing to the edge of the pier. “I show you how to get started.”

Between the two of them Fáelán finally got the lessons that she'd been denied for so long, and by mid-afternoon, under Willy’s direction’s, she landed a sardine and a few sunfish. She also landed some trash, but she tucked it into her satchel as well, telling Will that if it was in her satchel then it wasn’t in the ocean. He firmly agreed. He got out his rod so he could continue his lessons with her. As they fished, he discovered that she knew a lot about marine ecosystems, and she explained that she did have a degree in science.

“Mostly environmental stuff, but I do love the ecosystems, and land, and how it all fits together.”

“I suppose they call you a tree hugger?” he asked. She gave the soft smile, mostly teeth.

“This depends on who we’re talking about.”

“Fair enough” he responded, and they fished silently for time. She finally left him, thinking him graciously. Stowing her catches and her new rod in her satchel, she headed back to her farm using the bottom route that she traced on the map. This route to occur past Marnie’s ranch, as well as other homes she hadn't seen. She dug a bit when she thought she saw something sparkling in the grass, and unearthed a dried starfish. Tucking it away, she figured she might as well hold onto it for bit and see if there were any archaeologists that could tell her more about it in the town. But that was another day's quest, for now she had projects to complete.

Those projects took a backseat when she caught sight of a pretty auburn haired girl who waved her over to the side of a large lake.

“Hey there” she called, “you must be the new farmer. I've been looking forward to meeting you. I'm Leah. You picked a good time to move here, the spring is lovely.”

“Yeah, I'm Fáelán,” Fáelán replied. “Spring is beautiful here. I'm enjoying it immensely.”

“That’s good to hear.” Leah caught sight of some greenery hanging from her satchel and asked about it. Fáelán explained about her foraging, and to her surprise Leah began excitedly detailing some of her own finds in the countryside. Soon the two were chatting like old friends about the flora and fauna of the area. Fáelán was surprised to find a kindred wild crafting spirit, someone who was equally enthusiastic about the diet of wild greens.

“I'll have to show you my medicine chest sometime, there's lots of remedies in the plants around us if we only know what to look for.” Leah replied in the affirmative and enthusiastically. Fáelán told her that she be welcome at any time. The two parted as friends, and promised to make plans soon.

Finally making it home for the evening, Fáelán sorted out her goods. She dumped the sardine into the shipping bin, and into the little ice chest within it.

“At least I finally figured out why that was there.” she chuckled to herself. She made a small fire in the fire pit outside, and skewered the sunfish she caught, putting it close to the embers. As it cooked, she made herself a salad and processed the herbs she wanted to use as medicines. The sunfish was flaky, and flavorful. It mixed well with the bitterness of the greens. Tossing the bones onto her new compost bin, she noted in her journal that she’d need to make a top for it. Bones were full of calcium, but it would do no good to her compost if they didn't have a chance to decompose. The fish skin she left out for the birds, hoping that they would leave her crops alone if they had this to eat. Full of food and content, she went inside to do some organizing.

Once inside, she started sorting out her living room. Between the donated desk, and the two she had herself she decided that this would be her work area. She set up her computer on one desk, and her tools and jewelry making supplies on another. A shelf stood beside them so she could organize her equipment. Looking over the pieces she made and had never sold, she gathered them all together and walked them outside to the shipping bin. She wondered how much they would go for, or if they would go for anything at all. Lewis had never said anything about personal items being sold. But he hadn't said not to, so she decided to take a chance.

Fatigue crept up on her and she found herself yawning. Taking that as a good time to head the bed, she found that when her head hit the pillow she couldn't remember anything else.

 

The next day was rainy, and Fáelán found this out when she rolled over and found that she had slept through her alarm by about 3 hours. Given that it was rainy, she figured the 3 hour extra sleep was probably not so bad. Mother Nature had taken care of watering for, so she had time to do other things. Deciding that it was probably better to go outside now, rather than later, she dug through her clothes and layered up. She felt ridiculous, but decided not to look into the mirror to confirm that. Pulling on work boots, she journeyed outside.

Her list of things to do outside was thankfully minimal. She had documented seeds she had found, and spend some time creating test plots, so she could see what the seeds turned into. That done, she grabbed her fishing rod, and decided that more time should be spent outside. At the moment, fishing was the only way she was going to get fresh food to eat beyond forging. Willey had also said that different fish came out when it rained, so better to get on that when it was raining.

She threw her line into the freshwater pond down past Marnie’s, and after ½ hour trying got nothing but trash. She settled down to the river, and got a few other things before adjourning to the beach and trying for a little longer. Altogether she found a few cool fish she hadn’t seen yet, and was able to unearth some clams and mussels that had washed up on the beach. Even if she didn’t eat all of her catches, this was still good to sell. Thoroughly soaked, she went back to the cottage and was overly grateful to Robin for dry wood on her hearth. Starting the fire, she peeled herself out of her clothing and hung it in front of the fire to dry. Looking around her living room, she decided to get started on her notebook, but before she forgot she called Robin to ask if she knew anything about Internet on the property.

“Hullo Robin, you have some time?”

“Of course I do Fáelán! What you need?”

“I was actually wondering if you knew if there had been Internet put into this house, or if there hadn’t who is there any way to get it?”

There was a pause for a minute as Robin thought.

“Well, Sebby is busy,” she began, “but I can ask Maru if she knows. Can I get her to text you about it?”

“Sure. I look forward to hearing from her. Also, thanks for the map Robin it’s really appreciated.”

She can almost hear the woman blushing over the phone.

“Oh don’t worry about it; I know how easy it is to get lost so I thought you’d like that.”

“I very much do. Thank you so much. I should let you get back to your day, but thank you again.”

“No problem hon! Talk to you soon!”

Robin hung up the phone, and Fáelán let out a long breath. Robin was a wonderful person, but very high energy. Fáelán hadn’t managed to gain her energy back yet, if she ever would. People were draining, or maybe Fáelán was just tired. Could’ve been both.

She spent the rest the afternoon cleaning, organizing, and seeing what she could find in her great grandparents storage rooms. She managed to go through some of her own things and separate thing she no longer wished to keep into a pile for selling or donation, and managed to find her Nona’s stew pot, that was supposed to hang from the fire. She also found her own stash of candles and lanterns. She put those aside to be used for decoration later.

Stretching her back out, after being on her knees for too long, she decided to tackle her journal.

She rode out the names and the birthdays of although she had met, and even though she hadn’t yet. She made her own little calendar with all of the villagers’ birthdays on it. Pinning that to her wall, she marked off the days she had been here already, and wondered as to the point of the festival’s that were upcoming. She’d never been to an Egg Festival before, and what was the flower dance? She let it go, figuring that this was simply a local set of spring events, probably only local to this region.

Sometime in the middle of her ponderings in her notebook, her phone buzzed and an unfamiliar number introduced itself as Maru’s phone. The conversation was short, and to the point. It turned out that a rather impressive modem had been installed in the house, and once she located it, it was a simple matter of plugging her computer into it. She saved the number in her phone, and hoped to meet this Maru soon.

 

She spent the next few days harvesting her parsnips, watering her crops, clearing out debris, and generally letting her OCD going nuts on a place she now considered hers. At home it hadn’t been such a big deal, nobody except her took care of the yard, nobody really cared about the garden, and after working all day in other people’s gardens, the last thing she wanted to do was get quack grass out of her yard. So her yard and her garden generally looked messy.

Now that she had a place that she could consider her own, now that she had a place that _was_ her own, it was going to be clean. As clean as it could be, without manicuring everything. She fished a bit, mostly for supper. Forged a bit for salad to go with it, and found herself dozing off under a tree for the next two or three afternoons, or hopping into the pond after work was done.

It was nice to be free. It was nice to be making some form of income.

She got money of course, the catches she was putting in her shipping bin were selling, as well as her crops and other forged goods, but it was so satisfying to know that she was making money with her own hands.

Her parsnips ripened, white and full into the soil and Fáelán harvested them, admiring them before tossing them into the shipping bin. She actually did make it town once with her fishing earnings and was able to buy more seeds. She bought mostly more parsnips, but also potatoes and some kale. Apparently parsnips grew well, and it was time to see what else would.

She was pleased to not have to deal with too many people. Even Pierre was quiet when she entered his shop. Obviously he was a little preoccupied with something else, and she left into his work.

Slowly the farm started to look like it once had; and Fáelán bemoaned her lack of arm muscles as she took her ax to the trees that were in the way of more farming. She ached, but she worked. She fished when she was done, and fell into bed every night exhausted.

 

One morning she got a letter about some mines, and almost immediately threw away because it came from Joja mart. Having scanned it quickly, she committed the details to memory and tossed the paper into the flames. She didn’t need more of their baloney, or bullshit layered under pretty words. “Environmental stewardship” indeed.

 

 

Abigail sat on the couch in the back of the Stardrop saloon, watching as her friends Sam and Sebastian played pool. More appropriately, she was watching Sam be destroyed at pool by Sebastian. But that was how every Friday night was, Sam could still not play, and Sebastian had decided that if Sam couldn’t improve, he wouldn’t let him win.

She checked her watch and sipped her drink as she watched Sam scratch again.

“I wonder if the new farmer will come and hang out.” She began. Sam looked over at her.

“Have you met her yet? I’ve heard she exists but I haven’t seen her.”

“Yeah, she’s kind of shy. At least I think she is.” Abigail shrugged. “Maybe she just doesn’t like people.”

“That would make her your best friend Seb,” Sam nudged his friend. Sebastian looked up from the pool cue and table he was studying. His black bangs hiding the calculating dark gray eyes, and softening the sharpness of his annoyance that he directed at Sam.

“You and my mother, just because I’m not so good around people, does not immediately make me the best candidate to be her friend. “

“Oh, lighten up buddy. I didn’t mean anything by it.” Sam said. Sebastian ignored him, lining up his cue and taking his shot. The ball he was aiming for knocked Sam’s out of the way and bounced into another that hit the corner before the ball rolled into its own pocket. Sam immediately began wailing as Sebastian lined up for another play. “Come on man! How am I ever supposed to match that?”

“Obviously you’re not.” Abigail smirked at him. Sam shot her a dirty look. His bright blond spiky hair didn’t make him seem intimidating, and so the look simply made her giggle. Blue eyes glared at her, but we’re suddenly pulled back to the game as Sebastian sunk another ball. Instead of listening to Sam continuing to wail, Abigail stood.

“I’m going to grab some pizza, usual order?” she asked. She saw Sebastian nod, while Sam continued to complain at his friend. Rolling her blue eyes, Abby made her way down to the bar where Gus grinned at her as she asked for the usual.

“15 minutes, coming up!” the bartender exclaimed. Abigail smiled and made her way back to the boys.

Sam was finally able to try to hit the ball again, and was leaning over the table. Sebastian gave her a small grin.

“Nice earrings Abby, where did those come from?” he asked indicating the purple dangles at her ear. Touching them, Abigail smiled.

“My dad has actually got some jewelry in. When this came in with a local inventory, I snatched it up. I’m quite fond of them.” The earrings were simple; a purple star was topped by a silver disk bead, over which a clear faceted bead sat. A tiny silver bead at the top finished the piece before it was finished with the metal twisted into a loop.

“Wonder where those came from.” Sam muttered as he missed the cue ball again. “Damnit!” he spat.

Pizza appeared about 20 minutes later, and the three indulged.

“Do you even want to meet this farmer Seb?” Sam asked through a mouthful of pizza. Abigail frowned, being reminded of something.

“Did you even return the extra key you had?” Sebastian frowned.

“Not if I can help it and no.” he directed the first half of his statement to Sam, and the last part to Abigail.

“Why?” Sam garbled, his mouth so stuffed with pizza that it was only far too many years of having known him that Sebastian actually knew what he was trying to say. Sebastian rolled his eyes.

“Mom’s been on my case that she seems pretty lonely. I’m not interested in picking up stray cats, or taking care of feral people. I’ve got enough work to do already.” Abigail opened her mouth to repeat her question, but Sebastian answered her. “No, I haven’t, and I’m pretty sure I won’t have to. She seems to have made so much effort to get involved with the town, I don’t think shall last a month.” His sarcasm was practically dripping out of the air from his words. Abigail opened her mouth to say something, to defend the newcomer, but she realized that she didn’t really have anything to defend her with. How did she know that this girl would stay for any longer than a month?

“I hope you’re wrong.” She said finally, but knew Sebastian would only be convinced by actions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The earrings Abi is wearing can be discovered here!   
> https://www.facebook.com/NightShadeLace/photos/a.782202965216388.1073741827.772168429553175/805533729549978/?type=3
> 
> No I'm totally not using this as a platform for jewellery, nope, not at all. 
> 
> Thankyou for the comments, and the kudos!   
> Apparently I've been posting stories in the wrong fandom, given that I rarely find so many comments or kudos from other places ^^  
> (Critical Role appears to be another exception to this rule )  
> Thank you for being so kind!   
> I'll post more probably next week, I dont want to overwhelm anyone with too much at once!   
> See you then!


	4. Mining, Meows, Morris & Meltdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of mining, a new friend, a confrontation, and catharsis.   
> Witnessed by an uninvited guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hullo! You guys are awesome!   
> Thankyou for the kudos so far, and the comments, and for reading! Even you guys! The lurkers! Thankyou!   
> You currently have me checking my phone and reading count every break I have to see how much more you guys have read!   
> ^^  
> I've become vain, I'm sorry. Its nice to know this is appreciated.   
> Apparently everyone leaves kudos at exactly 3:33-3:34 in the morning, no matter what time the comment that went with the kudos was created. ^^  
> I find that amusing.   
> Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

It took until Saturday for the birds to stop going after the fish innards she’d left them, and decided that her crops were far more edible, as she discovered when she turned from the mailbox at an ominous cawing. She resisted throwing the envelope she’d discovered in her mailbox at the crow. Instead she gritted her teeth, and decided to go look up on her new Internet how to make a scarecrow.

An hour later, lots of straw, some sticks, twine, burlap, and the ugliest oldest work clothes she had, she stuck the bottom end of the scarecrow into the soil and dusted her hands.

“I wonder if I need to have a sign as well.” She said to no one. “Maybe this sign should say ‘go away birds.’” She chuckled to herself, at the concept, knowing it was silly, but being amused by it anyway. She turned to the envelope that she had put down when she saw the crow, and opened it.

“D0000D.” it began, “you totally missed saloon night! I was looking forward to letting you meet my friends; you owe me of rain check on this! Xp. I don’t know if you have a phone, but this is my number. Love, Abigail.”

Below the message was a number. Fáelán quickly plugged it into her phone and sent an apology. Mentally tuning out her phone again, she finished her farming before heading to town for more seeds, to replace the plants the Crows had eaten.

Along the way she ran into Lewis, who showed her the old community center. It was pretty tattered, old and forgotten, but it looks like it had had many good days. He seemed really sad about it, as if he wanted to repair it and bring back all the good memories he had of it.

“Joja has been hounding me to sell them the land so they can turn it into a warehouse.”

Fáelán gagged and was distinctly displeased. Lewis turned to her. “We can use the money, probably more than we can use this old place, but something’s stopping me from selling it.”

“Might that be common sense mayor? Joja will always hound people. There’s something to be said about those who are able to resist.” She stared at the decrepit building. “This place looks like it had a purpose once. I’d hate to give Joja something with this much good memories attached. They wouldn’t appreciate it at all. To them, it’s just real estate, to you, its heritage.” He nodded, gesturing at the door.

“Shall we go inside?”

Inside was as desolate as outside, but Fáelán felt something odd. As soon as she entered the building, she could smell earth, freshly turned soil, potatoes from the back yard. But it wasn’t just soil; the earthy scent was mixed with something fragrant and sweet. Was that sweet peas? Or was it lilacs after the rain? It was difficult to pinpoint. Beyond the smell, Fáelán’s skin prickled. Something felt outside of regular reality, as if she’d walked into a passage full of static electricity. But it wasn’t painful; it almost felt like the electricity between people when they don’t touch, a way that your body recognizes the presence of another.

Lewis noticed a stone igloo type structure in the corner. He considered it to be a play fort of the youngsters in the town, but something told Fáelán that this wasn’t a human structure. The knowledge wasn’t terrifying, it wasn’t even something to be feared, it was just something new, different, and familiar?

As Lewis turned her, muttering something about how this place was worse than he recalled, Fáelán noticed something behind him pop into sight. She leaned around him to get a better look, but as he turned the tiny thing disappeared. Fáelán was puzzled, and Lewis followed her gaze only to mention something about rats.

Fáelán nodded as Lewis shrugged and said something about wanting some lunch. He mentioned on the way out that he’d leave the door open so she could come catch the rat if she had some time.

As the door shut behind the mayor, Fáelán followed her ears. Something here was chiming, and the wind never seemed to stop. Within another room, she saw something glowing. Walking in, she could’ve sworn she saw another small creature that was most certainly not a rat, disappear into nothing.

Were they tiny apples?

On the floor was a glowing scroll that she couldn’t read. Having some knowledge of things not of this earth or reality, Fáelán observed it, and let it be. Something told her this was not for her to touch, at least not now.

She left the community center, and its spirits, having a fairly good idea that’s pretty soon, she be back.

Something was troubling her about it though. Whatever was there and there _was_ something there, was familiar. Like déjà vu, or an old old dream from when she was too young to know it was a dream. This was a mystery, but the real world was first. Mysteries wouldn’t put food on the table.

Gathering seeds from Pierre’s, she decided that after she planted them she go check out these mines. She packed her map, her pickax, some water, and some food. Leaving everything else behind, she strapped on the knife in the thigh holster, and decided that she should pull out one of the gifts from her friends before she left. Leaning beside the door was a pole arm, black shaft with a silver cap at the bottom. The top was covered in another black cap, but this one covered a blade. She nodded at it, silent satisfaction that it may finally find a use that wasn’t propping up the wall and being beautiful and deadly. She held it close as she walked out the door and towards the path she first saw Robin take towards her house. She did indeed pass the carpenter shop, but her mind and her feet were far more set towards the tiny bridge and the hole in the stone of the mountain. Making her way to the entrance, she uncapped the blade and stowed the cap in her backpack before moving into the darkness.

It wasn’t truly that dark, there were lanterns on the wall. She saw a man inside, white hair and mustache, his left eye covered by a patch. She stood off to the side, having approached him a little, and left a good deal of space should he prove to be dangerous. He looked at her.

“Your stance is a little weak, but you have a nice blade. Problem is, the mine isn’t a good place for pole arms. There’s no room to maneuver, between hauling a pickax to clear your path and the beasties that might be in your way, pole arms aren’t the best weapon for this. Are you looking to be an adventurer?” he asked her. Fáelán cocked her head to the side and said nothing.

“Well if you come down with me, I can lend you a sword, get you started. You may just be an explorer, but I prefer that nobody died in these mines.” He indicated a chest over by a set of rails. “If you leave your pretty blade around there no one will take it. Inside you should find an all right sword.” She complied, but gave him a confused look as she buckled on the blade. The man shrugged. “Swords are easiest; wide range of attack, not as quick as a dagger, but pretty good to start. You can always decide later if you wanted to change.” He indicated a hole with the ladder in the ground, and descended. Fáelán followed.

“Names Marlon by the way.” He said as he pulled out his own pickax and showed her how to start.

It took a few levels for her to understand why a pole arm was indeed not the weapon for the mines. The sword he had lent her came in useful before she even realized that it had.

At level 10, when they had fixed 2 elevator fuses, Marlon stretched and indicated the elevator.

“You can come back here and explore, if you slay a few slimes on your way, I can even offer you admittance to the adventurer’s guild, but I’ll tell you about that when you come and see me.” She tried to offer him the sword back, but he waved it away. “You clear out some slimes, and you can keep it. I have enough already, and I’d hate to see you and that pretty blade be hurt.” She grinned at him and wished him good evening.

 _The difference,_ she thought, _between the exhaustion from farm work and the exhaustion for mining is how far you have to walk home to bed, and the fact that there are rocks in your backpack._ The mining exhaustion made her sleep until seven, and she didn’t care.

Her mailbox had an odd letter in it. The stationary was weird, the calligraphy was familiar, and she smiled to herself that she recognized the particular script. That might be something else to get back into, calligraphy. Smiling ruefully, she scanned the letter before considering it weird, and putting it inside her door. That was something to be dealt with later.

She sold crops, and worked. Fished, and cooked quietly over a small fire for her evening meal. It was beginning to become routine, and she was glad to not have to deal with many people. Her insides felt queasy whenever she thought of dealing with people. She didn’t want to. People could backstab you, and hurt you in ways that her little dagger could only dream of. She felt a longing inside as if there was a hand reaching out for someone, wanting to be close to someone, but she forced the feeling away.

“We aren’t doing this again.” She told herself. “People are dangerous. We came to get away from people. You can get to know people, once you have a castle to hide in if anything goes wrong.”

 

 

Tuesday morning dawned hot and full of pollen. She sneezed as she came out of the front door. Last night hadn’t been very restful, and she could already feel a sun headache coming on.

At approximately 8:00 or something along those lines, she found but her attention arrested by the friendly face of Marnie. She waved Fáelán over to the veranda of the cottage.

“Good morning Fáelán! You really have been doing a lot of work here, this is quite incredible.” Her awe out of the way, Marnie gestured to the small Siamese looking kitty beside her. “This cat was wandering around the entrance to your farm. I think it’s a stray, poor thing.”

Fáelán observed the cat. She always loved cats, and she had quite a few fond memories of the two then lived with her family. Should always wanted a cat herself, maybe this was the opportunity?

The cat was a little round, a pretty chocolate point type Siamese. Her fur was almost a mocha color, except for her tail, face and paws, which were deep dark chocolate. She had beautiful clear blue eyes, and Fáelán fought to not fall in love with her at once. Bending down, she offered her fingers to the cat.

The kitty smelled them, before brushing up against her with her chin. Fáelán chuckled lightly.

“Do you think your farm could use a cat?” Maria asked. Fáelán smiled.

“Every home deserves a cat; they tend to be the spirit of the house.” Marnie smiled, understanding.

“What will you call her?” she asked. Fáelán considered.

“Mocha.” She looked down at the kitty. “Does that work? Are you a Mocha?” apparently Mocha appreciated her name, as the first thing she did was crawling to Fáelán’s lap and start purring. “Apparently so.” Fáelán said softly, scratching Mocha behind her ears.

“Well I’m glad that she found a home, and you found a friend. You must pardon me Fáelán, but I have to get going. Aerobics starts pretty soon and I don’t be late.” Marnie waived as she jogged away. She watched as Marnie disappeared around the corner, before turning her attention back to her new friend. Mocha stretched, before curling up into a ball. Her little feet stretched out as she yawned and tucked her feet over her nose. Fáelán started scratching under her chin and behind her ears, as best as she could given the feet that were in the way.

Mocha was adorable, exactly the sort of cat that she always wanted. Fáelán felt her whole heart melt as Mocha leaned her head down onto her hand as she was scratching. Smiling to herself, she pulled out her phone and added pet supplies to her shopping list. She had meant to go shopping later in the week, but better to get such things now. She had a reason to go shopping as it were. Gently urging the cat off her lap, Fáelán stood and watched as Mocha hopped onto the veranda swing before curling up again. Gathering her tote bags, Fáelán started off for Pierre’s. She noticed herself squinting as she walked.

“Apparently I should add a sun hat to my list, the squinting hurts my eyes.” She muttered under her breath as she walked into town.

Pierre’s was quiet, and when he saw her enter the store, he smiled at her.

“Good morning Fáelán, are we shopping for basics today or do you need something special?” he asked. She smiled tightly as she grabbed a basket.

“Actually looking for pet supplies to day Pierre, would you happen to have any?” He came out from behind the counter to show her the shelves.

“Right here Ms Fáelán. Please help yourself.” He indicated shelves of litter, food and other accoutrements. She smiled her thanks as he returned to the counter and she began to browse. She picked up some of the basics, litter, a box for it, a food and water dish, food, a cat door. Was there anything else she was missing? She mused on that as she wandered through the rest of the store collecting her essentials, which were mostly cooking thing she couldn’t farm. She waved to everybody she knew in the store, and smiled at the ones she didn’t, but they seemed intent on shopping and she was intent on finishing quickly. She set her basket down on the counter beside the spinning rack full of seeds and began to peruse them, wondering what she might be able to plant again, and what might be worth planting.

She heard the bell at the door go off as someone entered. In her peripheral vision, she saw Pierre stiffen, and watched the smile on his lips become a glower. In the glass display in front of her, she saw her own reflection. Dark hair in a bun, a few rings in her ears that were dark enough to be seen in the partially reflective surface, sunglasses, black tank top and the strap of her satchel. She could smell cheap aftershave in liberal amounts. In the display glass she saw a small man with small glasses perched on the end of his nose, black hair combed over and greasy. He had a giant red bow tie over a black suit. This man immediately set her on edge. She watched as Pierre’s glower turned into a glare as the man in the middle of the store cleared his throat loudly.

“Ahem.” He said, trying to be loud enough that everybody’s attention was on him. “Come and get it folks, coupons for 50% off your purchase at JojaMart!” his tone was smug, and Fáelán watched as the corner of Pierre’s eye started to twitch.

“50%!?” he whispered hoarsely, the panic evident to her in his voice. “I’ll be selling at a loss!” As much as Pierre feared it, and despite the man waving tickets in the air, no one seemed to be taking them.

“Go away Morris.” She heard somebody behind her mutter.

“Aw, come on,” he goaded, “Isn’t 50% off worth it?”

The scent of cheap aftershave and too much hair gel got stronger before a sweaty paternal arm curled around her shoulder as the coupons were waived in her face. Fáelán froze. The next instant was all instinct, fueled by anger and shock. Her left hand went to the wrist around her shoulder, grabbing hard and twisting the arm that went with it. In the same moment, she snatched the tickets from his hand. Pierre’s jaw dropped as Morris was suddenly reduced to pleading and pained wails in the grip of the new farmer, twisted arm up in her unrelenting grasp as he starred at the floor.

“JojaMart huh?” she examined the coupons as he whimpered. The townsfolk had never heard her voice be so strong, or so sharp. In all the time they’d known her, Fáelán was soft-spoken. This was not the Fáelán they knew. “I’m assuming that the 50% off comes after we pay an exorbitant price for membership?”

“Well, err, the membership is required yes..” Morris squeaked as he tried and failed to free himself from her grip.

“But you’d be happy to sell me one of those, something else I don’t need. I’m sure you’ll try and bring me in based on the price of your seeds, but I’m willing to bet that your seeds generally come from Monsanto, or are such poor quality which is the only way that the cost is justified. Not that it matters that Monsanto is evil, it’s whenever cheapest, right is?”

“Well, err…”

“Not to mention that when I shop that Pierre’s, I might pay more, but I’m certain that I’ll pay the full price and those along his economic chain of supply will be fairly reimbursed, with you in JojaMart I’m certain that only part of them will be reimbursed because to reimburse them fully cost too much.” Her voice had turned icy and contemptuous, dismissive of the sweaty diminutive sniveling creature she was holding in a grip of iron.

“Pierre knows all of his vendors by name I’m willing to bet, you couldn’t even name two producers by name. I’ll bet most of his food items are local and fresh instead of being stuffed full of preservatives. Do your people even make a living wage? Or do you expect them to get by on food stamps because you can’t afford to pay them a decent wage? To treat people like people would cut into your everyday low prices, and we can’t afford that.” She sneered, letting him drop to the floor clutching his wrist. She advanced deliberately, and he scuttled back on his hands away from her.

“What about the environmental cost of everyday low prices, but about the environmental impacts of those working with you? Do even consider the impacts that those who produce items for you have to go through? What kind of hoops that your producers have to jump through in order to meet your company’s demands? The fact that most of them have to go to China, so they can produce the volume you need at the price you are demanding? The only reason they go to China is because China has less restrictions on environmental pollutants, which pollutes the area for the people who live there, who have no protection. Have you thought of that? That’s the only place they can go to produce a profit, because of how much you demand, at the prices you demand? You can afford 50% off, he can’t.” she pointed at Pierre. “But that doesn’t matter to you, as you can just take your loss out of the producers who are starving while they feed your insatiable appetite for products nobody needs. What about those who are too poor to realize your _everyday low prices_ are screwing them?! Have you thought about any of this, or are you just so arrogant to think that the world will just bow down to 50%?!”

She had advanced on him to the point where he was a good 6 feet from the door, he was pouring sweat, and his answer to her rant was a series of stutters. Her volume had started softly, but was now loud enough that the aerobics class that Caroline was running next door had stopped, and all of the women in the town were peaking through the doorway at the scene in the shop. It was obvious she was furious.

“Are people anything more than dollar signs to you? How much money you can steal from them, on products that don’t last? “She finally took a breath and stared down at him, her face a snarl. “You are arrogant, rude, and too full of yourself to realize how pathetic you are. No one with manners would try to steal customers in the middle of the store of a competitor. If you and your company had any class at all, or were actually worth dealing with, you would know that. Now get out.”

Morris pointed a shaking finger at her.

“You won’t survive without me!” he cried, his voice shaking. “Your farm won’t ever get off the ground!”

“I will build it back up, without you or your organization, and I will do it without having anything to do with you or yours, or I will die trying.” She growled at him. “Now go.” He took to his heels and ran. Fáelán closed her eyes and took a deep breath letting it out slowly. Turning back to the counter and Pierre’s gaping expression, she grabbed a bunch of kale seeds and a straw sun hat before setting them down with more force than required. She had noticed that everyone was staring at her, mostly with mouths open.

“How much for all of this?” she asked quietly.

“On the house.” He responded, still gaping at her.

“Thanks.” Her tone was gruff as she gathered everything haphazardly into her tote bags and almost ran out the door back to the farm. She didn’t look back; she didn’t want to know how many people followed her with their eyes or had watched the entire exchange. She had caught sight of a young lady and a whiskered nerdy looking man from next door poking their heads out to watch, so knowing she could be heard next door was bad enough.

Setting down the good she had bought, or been given, she went inside and plugged in the sound system that the younger generation of townsfolk had left her. There were few speakers outside, obviously having once been used for outdoor dance parties. She hooked to the sound system up to her phone, suddenly grateful for blue tooth technology. Moving frenetically, she set up Mocha’s new litter box inside the house, as well as the food and water dishes which she filled with their respective items, before finding some tools she knew she’d left on her desk and setting up the cat door. Satisfied that Mocha could go in and out as she pleased, Fáelán turned on her music, loudly.

“ _I went walking in the garden_.” The song was loud, full of bass, and the voice that sang was low and rumbling. Grabbing a hold of her pickax and her ax, Fáelán decided that the best way of working out her anger was on stumps that refused to move.

 

Sam: Dooood. You’ll never guess what happened.

Abigail: What?

Sam: I got the rest of the day free is what! Morris came in looking panicked and shut the store down for the rest of the day! Told us all to go home!

Abigail: Yeah… I think I know why…

Sam: Why? Did something happen?

Abigail: Yeah. The new farmer happened.

At that point, Sebastian groaned under his breath and returned to the code he was working on and the blinking cursor. His fingers tented, his elbows on his desk, he rested his face in his hands before looking at the little blinking line on the screen. His phone flashed again as Abigail and Sam started talking back and forth, discussing what had happened earlier today and Sebastian flipped the phone over as the notification light signaled more messages that he hadn’t seen.

He was sick of hearing about this girl. His mom had done nothing but speak about her since she’d moved in less than 2 weeks ago. Granted, she was new in a tiny town that never had anyone new or different appearing, so she was going to be news even if she didn’t want to be, but that didn’t stop his irritation about the fact no one had shut up about her since she’d gotten here.

He rubbed his eyes as he stared at the white line on his screen. Her recalcitrance hadn’t helped the townsfolk get over her either. She was either shy as all hell, or didn’t want to get to know anyone in the town, in which case she was in the wrong damn place for this. Shaking his head viciously, he forced himself to focus on the project he was working on, stopping once to text his mom that he wouldn’t be up for supper and to not worry about him.

It was a few hours later that he stretched and got up from the desk, his project finished for the evening. Having sent it off to his client, he decided that a victory smoke was in order. Ascending the stairs with characteristic quiet, he peaked around the landing to see if anyone was around. Demitrius was in his lab, seemingly busy, and no one else was around. Sebastian climbed the remaining steps quickly and was out the door before anyone noticed him.

Safely outside, he moved to the side of the lake by his house and pulled out the pack of smokes he had stuffed in his hoodie pocket. Lighting one, he inhaled the smoke as he felt his body relax. Another day finished, another project completed, more money in the bank. That was a satisfying feeling.

Taking another breath, he listened to the stillness of the lake.

Except it wasn’t still. There was something, different today. He could hear bass, something loud and rumbling from somewhere. If he didn’t know better, he’d say that he was somewhere near a concert, but he knew of no venue close enough to be heard from this distance.

He cocked his head to the side and shrugged. He had nothing to do now, and he was curious about the music, if it was music. Where was it coming from?

He headed past his house and down the pathway that lead to the old abandoned farmhouse. He grimaced as he tapped the ash off his cigarette. Right, not abandoned anymore.

By the time he had walked close enough that he could hear words from the music, and it was music, he could hear that now, he’d finished the cigarette and was curious.

Obviously the new farmer had discovered the sound system that they had left in the old house, and put it to good use. He was surprised at the tone of the music he could hear. He was even more surprised that he could recognize some of the music that he thought he heard. Whoever she was, she apparently had good taste.

He’d reached the entrance to the old farm, and could see flickering light ahead through the trees. The pathway into the farm hadn’t been entirely cleared of bushes and trees, so he crept in the shadows until he could see what was going on on the land itself. He saw the house. It hadn’t been really changed since he’d been there last, but it looked like it was less abandoned now. It had lanterns on it. He could see blue, purple and green glass lanterns hanging from black chains from the second floor over the veranda. They were lit, but not providing much light.

The music changed, and he didn’t recognize the song. It started with a fret board screech, he knew that sound anywhere after trying to work with Sam when he was in an experimental mood, but it began a song that he didn’t know. The scratchy fret board appeared to be the only instance of guitar in the song before it transitioned to vocals that lead into something heavy and electronic. It wasn’t techno. Now he heard a sound he didn’t recognize and he found himself creeping further into the farm, still keeping to the fringe of shrubbery and trees, but enough that he had a better view of in front of the house.

The fire pit was lit and the flames were illuminating the entire front entrance and the farming area itself. A few chests stood against the house, but the general area in front of the veranda was clear, except for the red whirling dervish moving to the music. The sound he had heard against the music was the sound of whirling spinning fabric of some sort. The farmer moved relentlessly to the music, dancing with the fabric in perfect synchronicity.

Sebastian felt something like awe for what he was seeing.

Her song ended and a slight pause was audible between the songs. The silky fabrics dropped to the ground as she stopped moving them. He could hear her breathing heavily, and from his angle could see the sheen of her sweaty face. He took the opportunity to get a good look at her from his out of the way observation point.

Her ears were oddly pointed, and he got the impression of an elf. An elf with a few black rings threw the cartilage of one ear. She was wearing some sort of crop top slashed black sleeveless shirt, and short black shorts. She was barefoot. He blinked as he noticed this. She was pale as a ghost, and the firelight reflected off her skin due to the sheen of sweat. The red was the only colour on her monochrome pallet.

She waited for another song, or appeared too, swinging the silky things back and forth along the ground. They appeared to be longer than he had originally anticipated, and were they weighted? She held them in the middle of the short side of the rectangle, and one side of the fabric always dripped down, so he guessed that weighted was probably correct.

Her hair was tied in a bun, it was something else he noticed as she turned to approach the steps where it appeared she’d put her phone down. The fire reflected off of it, and he couldn’t make out a colour, settling on dark for now.

The song began, and she returned to where she had stood before. This one began with scratchy frets and what was obviously guitar. The bass kicked in suddenly and he could appreciate the raw feeling of the song.

She moved suddenly as the melody kicked up, a not so difficult guitar riff, but her movements were what took his attention.

“Can’t fight the temptation, when you get the vibration, won’t do you no good.” The lyrics were familiar, and he recognized No Good by Kaleo. The music took backstage to the details that stood out to him in sudden clear picturesque minuteness. The muscles in her calves, the half grin on her face as she moved, the fact that she never once came down to put her heels on the ground as she moved. The flags were the main event, but she was an incredible backdrop for them. They moved over her threw the air as she skillfully pulled them together, around or apart. He’d never seen anything like it.

Obviously she knew the song as well, for she punctuated the beats and changes in the song with sharp flinging of the silks, or tight curling spinning patterns. She was probably a practiced performer with these things.

He watched dumbfounded until he felt something touch his leg. Looking down, he saw a dark tail and luminous eyes of a feline. She mewed at him and he crouched down to let her sniff his hand. He barely heard her mew again, but knew that she wanted chin scratches by the way she was rubbing insistently at his fingers. He indulged her, scratching fine fur the colour of dark coffee as he felt her purr against his leg. The kitty with her intelligent eyes and the dancer in front of the fire kept his attention until the song ended. Sebastian found himself wanting to see more, but also to see if she looked the same away from the persona he saw during her dancing. Did she look the same when she was standing with her chest heaving? Did her muscles still catch the light of the flames? Did she still smile the same way she had before?

He didn’t have to wait long before the next song started. Its intro was like waiting for the cloudburst to happen, where the tension sits on your shoulders until the dam breaks and water falls. This song didn’t have her smiling. Between the whirling silks, he could see lines around her eyes, her brow furrowed as if in concentration. Something in the way she moved said that it wasn’t concentration.

 _“Leave the lost and dead behind, nows your chance to run for cover…_ ”

She was mouthing the words, singing with her body and her lips, but not her voice.

Unlike her movements before, these weren’t so much the whirling dervish he’d first noticed, these were sharp movements, sweeping gestures as she brought the silks up to pull them down with the rise and fall of the music. He could just as easily see blades in her hands and the same movements would be applicable.

“ _I will not bow_  
 _I will not break_  
 _I will shut the world away_  
 _I will not fall_  
 _I will not fade_  
 _I will take your breath away_

 _And I'll survive, paranoid_  
 _I have lost the will to change_  
 _And I'm not proud, cold-blooded fake_  
 _I will shut the world away…_ ”

 

The firelight was catching sheen on her face, and with a start, Sebastian realized she was crying. He couldn’t hear anything beyond the sound of the flags, the slowly dying fire and the music, but knew it despite what his ears told him.

 

The song ended and he watched as she collapsed to her knees. He waited for more music to start but the playlist seemed to have ended.

 

She looked defeated, tired, worn out. She didn’t open her eyes; it took a while before she even moved. Was she ok? He chewed on the inside of his lip, wondering if he should go check on her or not.

 

His decision was made for him as he heard her click her tongue. The kitty, which had been happily sitting on his lap, rose and ran to her. Apparently the tongue click was a summons of some sort. As the Siamese kitty went over to her, he watched her rise and move to the house. Pushing open the door and shutting it behind the cat. He didn’t hear it lock.

 

He waited for a few minutes before the flames stopped and the area was pretty dark. He watched as inside a small light emerged before being borne away upstairs. Taking a deep breath, he inhaled the scent of fire, smoke, humidity and a light scent of sweat before creeping away to the pathway that lead home.

 

If that was the farmer, maybe she wasn’t as boring as he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Todays Chapter has the following Songs featured.   
> The Garden: July Talk  
> No Good : Kaleo  
> Own Little World: Celldweller  
> I Will Not Bow: Breaking Benjamin. 
> 
> Nope, I havent been looking forward to this chapter at all, nope, not me.   
> Nor have I been excited to post this since the idea hit me at work a week back. Nope, not at all. XD   
> I am lame. I also dont like jojamart, or its real world counterpart, Walmart, and others like them.   
> Faelan may be pushing a lot of my anger for walmart into her own ranting, but its a good way to get out my own feeling about the. *glares at big box store*  
> anyway. I hope you enjoyed!


	5. The Egg Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Egg Festival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late, I'm sorry!   
> Been caught up playing Destiny 2, and just got to where I can actually play instead of being led around by my nose.   
> Enjoy!

The day of the Egg Festival dawned hot, and Sebastian wasn’t happy about it.

 

“Why couldn’t it be cool?” he muttered to himself as he came upstairs, pulling on his shoes as he got there. His mother was already making breakfast, but she knew that he really wasn’t interested in food first thing in the morning. Given that it was hitting almost time to leave, Sebastian called to his mom that he was leaving and that he’d see her at the Egg Festival.

 

He found Sam, and Abigail who greeted him happily, and he responded with a grunt.

 

“Aww, not feelin it Seb?” Sam asked. Abigail responded by handing Sebastian a to go cup full of coffee.

 

“It’s warm, it’s before noon and I’m outside.” He said, glaring at the cup before taking heavy slurp. He gave it a grateful look, and thanked Abigail with his eyes. She grinned and nodded

 

“I had a feeling you hadn’t had time to make a cup yet.”

 

“Well I wasn’t going to stay in the house with my mom and Demetrius making breakfast, the last thing I need is to give him an opportunity to come after me.” Sam gave his friend a sympathetic look.

 

“Has he been bad these last few days?”

 

“Just obnoxious.” Sebastian sighed as he took another gulp. Sam sneezed.

 

“Uh oh, allergies.” He said before reaching for a handkerchief.

 

“Hurricane Sam is on its way!” giggled Abigail as Sam blew his nose and shot her a death glare. Sebastian rolled his eyes at his friends and watched as his mom and family came into view. Robin immediately waved, and Sebastian raised a hand in greeting. He was watching as she was making her way across the square to say hello, when she stopped. Frowning, she took out her cell phone and answered it. Sebastian watched as she moved off to the side and was suddenly invested in her phone conversation. He frowned. No one usually called during festival’s, because everybody was already there and could to talk to her if they needed her.

 

“Hey,” he said, breaking up the conversation of Abigail and Sam. “Is there anyone not here that’s supposed to be?” they frowned and looked around.

 

“Not that I can see.” Wheezed Sam,

 

“What about the new farmer?” Abigail asked. “I don’t see her.”

“Yeah! Wasn’t she supposed to come today?” Sam asked, his excitement cutting through his sneezing.

“Doesn’t look like she’s here though.” Abigail responded.

By this time, Mayor Lewis had stepped up and called that the egg festival was about to begin, Abigail went over and took her place, but as Sebastian looked around, he noticed that Rabin and Marnie were gone. Pulling out his phone, he quickly texted Maru.

-Hey, do you know where mom went?

A few minutes later the reply came.

-Yeah, they went off to NightShade, apparently the new girl called for help.

-What about?

-Mom didn’t say. Oh, do you have 500 g you could spot me?

Sebastian frowned at this text.

-What for?

-Mom says the farmer is interested in some of the limited seeds Pierre has, and will pay me back, but something has come up and she isn’t going to be able to attend today.

Sebastian rolled his eyes as he walked up to Pierre’s stall.

“Good morning Sebastian, what can I do for you? You don’t usually make an appearance at my stall.” The shop keep was curious but Sebastian didn’t play into his hands.

“I’m looking for your limited seeds.”

“Taking up farming are you?” here chuckled as he showed Sebastian the seeds in question.

“I’m grabbing it for the new one; I’ve been told I’ll be reimbursed.” He deadpanned.

“How many do you want?”

“How much will 500 gold get me?”

“Five packages.” Pierre answered cheerfully.

“Fine.” Sebastian replied, handing over the 500 gold.

“Enjoy the festival!” Pierre answered as he handed Sebastian his seeds. Grumbling, Sebastian went to stand by Sam.

“What did you need from Pierre’s?” Sam asked

“Long story, don’t worry about it.” Sebastian grunted.

“All right.” Sam drew out the word as he eyed his partner in crime. “You’re not going to run and join the farmer are you?” Sebastian gave him a flat stare.

“Are you kidding me? That requires going outside. I’ve had enough of going outside just this week.”

“Good point.” Sam replied.

 

When the egg hunt did begin, Sebastian stood to the side. Both of his friends wanted to participate, Abigail because she loved finding things, and Sam to support his brother. He himself had no interest. He showed up in these things because it was required of him not because he wanted to. Besides that he didn’t relish the headache that his stepfather would give him if he didn’t show up.

Abigail won the egg hunt, because of course she did. She was the reigning champion, had been for the past three years. It was kind of a given that she would be the one who won. After the ceremonies were finished, Sebastian began walking up of the mountain road. His mother and Marnie hadn’t returned to the egg festival, and he did wonder why, but he figured that his mom would probably be willing to inform everybody when they got home.

 

 

The day of the egg festival dawned hot. Fáelán wasn’t super excited, but it was kind of nice to have something to look forward to. Her crops were watered quickly, and she rushed around the farm trying to get everything done. As she worked, she noted the lack of Mocha. Since the cat had arrived, she had proven herself to be Fáelán’s best friend, her feline shadow. Fáelán had laughed herself silly as Mocha had rolled around in the soil, only to find herself covered in soot, and hopping up looking absolutely indignant that anyone should see her as such. The cat had grown on her and she had been nothing less than a godsend. So she found it odd that her feline companion didn’t wish to accompany her this morning.

Her crops were finished with enough time that she could shower and change. As she gathered her things for her shower, she found Mocha sitting beside her bed on a small pillow she laid out for her. Mocha was normally fairly soft-spoken, but as the cat saw her come in she started to yowl. Fáelán frowned.

“What’s wrong? Something bothering you kitten?” she asked. In response, Mocha rolled on her tail and started to groom. Thinking nothing of it, Fáelán headed for the shower.

Under the hot steaming water she considered what she should wear today. It wasn’t as if she had too many nice clothes. She had indeed brought everything from her parents’ house, but 90% of her wardrobe was work clothes. There were only too many days the villagers can see her in ugly scrappy shorts, without beginning to consider her trashy. There really wasn’t what she wanted to convey. She’d gotten rid of most of her dresses, and after that the debacle at Joja, had dropped most of her pretty office clothing too. That left her with suspiciously little beyond work clothing.

Her thoughts of clothing were interrupted by the sound of Mocha’s yowling. It varied in pitch and tone, there were so many pitches that she had heard from the cat but these were not something she was familiar with, this pattern was different and it made her afraid. Quickly toweling off, she went back to her room. Mocha had rolled on her side, and was showing off her belly. Fáelán looked over at her and noticed that her nipples were very obvious and pink. All of her experience had been with older female cats, or male cats. She’d never seen their stomach this vibrantly pink before. As Mocha rolled back onto her stomach, Fáelán noticed a sudden wet spot under her tail. A light bulb went off in her head.

Her water just broke.

“You’re not sick, you’re pregnant, and you’re not yelling randomly, you’re going into labor. Those are contractions!” she was astounded it taken her this long to figure out that her cat was going to be a mother.

All thoughts of the egg festival had left her mind; she wasn’t going to that today. Instead, she had a queen kitty to help through labor.

Following this thought, she realized she had no experience with feline pregnancy whatsoever. So she did the next best thing, she texted Robin for help, and asked her to come over with Marnie as soon as they had some time.

Meanwhile, Mocha had gone into labor in earnest, and that she listens to her cat call, she dressed in semi decent clothing, in case she actually was able to go today.

 

A few hours later there was a knock at her door.

“Come in!” she called, watching with a faint smile on her lips as Mocha, purring, groomed the new arrivals. She had always known that Mocha wasn’t straight Siamese. Her kittens confirmed this. Apparently there was a Tomcat tortoiseshell around, as well as another Siamese ragdoll like Mocha. Four kittens, one tortoiseshell, three beautiful white Siamese ragdolls. Fáelán was overjoyed, and felt very much like a proxy mother. She coaxed her kitten through labor, and as Marnie was able to confirm, it was a healthy one. Mocha had passed the placentas, and thankfully Fáelán had no idea what she done with it. Probably ate it, but that was about as far as she wanted to think about things.

The two women were visibly impressed with the cat and her owner, for staying cool and calm despite having no idea what she was doing. Marnie assured her that Mocha was fine, but would need some rest. She also suggested that the next time the fact that she used was in town, that she should get Mocha fixed. Fáelán agreed.

Robin piped up.

“Oh, I got Maru to get you some of the seeds Pierre was selling today, he claims there limited edition, but even if they aren’t, I figured that was better safe than sorry for you.” Fáelán let the smile reach her eyes.

“Thank you.” She said sincerely. She looked out the front window at the setting sun. “I will ensure that I get you the money I tell you for that soon. I suppose the festivals ended?” she looked questioningly at the women. They shared a rueful smile.

“Sorry about that darlin’” Marnie apologized, “animals sometimes take priority over town events.”

“In this case they did!” Robin laughed. Mocha looked up at her, fixing the woman with the steady glance, as if she was scandalized that the carpenter was so loud around sleeping kittens. Robin immediately demurred, her voice going soft as she apologized to the cat. Fáelán shared a glance with Marnie, both of them covering their mouths to stop giggling.

Robin rose and stretched.

“While my dears, I have children to feed, so I should probably get going.” Marnie gave her a look.

“Can’t your husband deal with that?”

“There’s a reason I said that I had children to feed.” Robin deadpanned.

“Ah,” grinned Fáelán. “The husband is part of the children.” Robin gave her a knowing smile.

“Same in your family? “ Fáelán shrugged.

“If you ask my mom.” The ladies tittered before Robin and Marnie bid her a good evening and left.

Fáelán watched Mocha groom her newest arrivals, and was pleased that there hadn’t been much more laundry to do because of the birthing process. She was pleased also that her great grandparent’s house could still bring life to the world. That it wasn’t simply a house full of dust, and somebody who wanted to run away from her own memories. But that set of dour thoughts could wait, she chided herself as she slid off her bed and slipped downstairs, away from the now sleeping cuddle bundle of fur and new cat. She had a queen and her brood to feed, not to mention herself. She grabbed her fishing rod, satchel, black hoodie, and checking to ensure the dagger at her thigh was still there, padded out the door and to the backwoods path, and the lake beyond Robin’s shop.

 

The night was dark and happily quiet. Patting softly over dirt pathways, she avoided rocks and pinecones as she made her way to the lake up by the mines. The sun was setting, and she was quite sure that it would be lovely view if she’d find a place to observe it from. That was high enough to observe it from anyway. The lake basin was a little lower than Robin’s shop, so she wouldn’t get a chance to see Stardew Valley lit up and shining in the pinks, gold, and fiery reds of sunset.

That was alright, the lake reflected the setting sun from the sky and it was a fine view.

She found herself a place a little bit away, close to the side of the lake, but out of the way of the pathway down to town. She would be less easy to see here.

She pulled out her rod and cast her line out to find what she could catch.

 

 

Sebastian still had the seeds on him. He didn’t know why exactly, probably because Demitrius had sparked an argument over supper, and he had stormed out instead of getting into a fight with the man. This was a constant problem, but Demitrius never seemed to care. Instead of facing the pained looks on Maru and his mother’s faces, he had just opted to leave. It was easier than getting into a fight with his stepfather. So now instead of getting into a fight over whenever it is Demitrius wanted to get into a fight over, there would be a semi ongoing battle about the fact that Sebastian had no respect for him, displayed entirely by how he was willing to leave in the middle of whatever Demitrius was saying. It was a passive aggressive form of “fuck you,” one he could get away with.

He’d gone outside to smoke, just to get away.

The moon was rising off in the distance, and it bathed the area in white light. The lake was rather pretty in the early evening, and he reached for the lighter in his pocket. Once he’d found himself sufficiently far from the house that he felt comfortable, he flicked it on and lit the cigarette in his mouth.

Inhaling deeply, he let out the breath softly and slowly.

He heard a plop in the water beyond him. That itself wasn’t new, the lake was full of fish that sometimes surfaced for air, but this sound was followed by the further sound of a reel.

Silently, he made his way to the edge of the water to find out what had made the noise.

The pointed ears, and bare feet gave him the immediate impression of an elf. His jaw dropped. While somewhere in the back of his mind, in a place he really wasn’t willing to admit to himself, let alone anyone else, there was probably a fantasy or two that involved elves from Lord of the Rings, he was fairly certain he wasn’t fantasizing now. Also none of the fantasies he had entertained involved fishing. It took him a moment or two to determine that it wasn’t an elf, but instead the farmer.

She was sitting cross legged and fishing behind a bush, seemingly much focused on her fishing. She wore a black hoodie and her hair in a bun. He noticed details that he hadn’t been able to that night he saw her dancing. He noticed a blue bracelet around her wrist, the high cheekbones, and the lines of muscles in her calves. Things he’d honestly never noticed on a woman, or on any one. Things he’d never cared to notice at all. For some reason, this girl whose name he did not as yet know, intrigued him. He’d heard that she blew up at Morris, displaying an intensity that no one in Pelican Town had seen from her. From his own observations, she probably had more to her than met the eye, and somehow he was curious.

He heard a sigh.

“I know that I’m new, but do you mind not staring? It’s unnerving.” She said.

_Busted_. He felt his cheeks flare as heat crept across them. He froze, unsure what to say or do, and as result stayed stock still.

“I won’t bite.” He heard her say, gentler this time. “You can come out of the bushes.” He swallowed, flicked ash from the end of the cigarette, and pushed aside the branches of the bush he was hiding behind. She didn’t look up at him as she was suddenly involved in pulling a catch from the water. She was able to pull a large bass from the water and grinned widely as she unhooked it from her line, using the end of a blade he didn’t see appear to knock it out.

Apparently you could knock fish out. He watched as she did some other quick knife maneuvers, effectively cleaning the fish of its innards and dressing it before putting it aside. Finally, she turned to him.

Her eyes were teal blue. This was the first thing he noticed, and to cover the fact he had no idea what to say, he brought his smoke to his lips and pulled on it, his gaze never leaving hers.

“I didn’t know you smoked.” She said finally, softly.

“What did you know of me?” he asked, somewhat curious. She shrugged.

“Honestly, not a whole lot, or anything really.”

“Then how does this come as a surprise?” he asked as she turned back to the lake and cast out her line again.

“It doesn’t.” Her line bobbed and he smoked, both of them quiet in the moonlight. Finally, she spoke again.

“Who are you?”

“Sebastian. I’m Robin’s son”

“Ah, she told me she had two children. I’ve met Maru by proxy, I’m glad to make your acquaintance Sebastian.” He raised an eyebrow, but she wasn’t looking at him.

“I think you owe me money.” She frowned at the water, but didn’t look away from her rod.

“Oh? Did you buy seeds for me today?” Apparently she’d gotten a bite and began to reel it in as he nodded. Landing it on the ground, she turned to him and was greeted by a handful of seeds. She smiled as she took them from him, before fishing in her purse and pulling out 500 gold for him, and an envelope that he looked at dubiously. Noticing his look, her gaze found her toes.

“I … wrote a thank you to your mum for them, I intended to drop the note and the money in the mailbox for whoever had gotten them. “

He accepted both with a nod before lighting another cigarette as she turned back to the water and cast her line again.

They sat in silence, not having much to say, and enjoying the quiet of the night. It was cool without being cold, and Sebastian finally felt comfortable in the weather.

Abruptly, he noticed her getting up and dusting herself off.

“I should probably go, I still have a queen to feed tonight, and these to plant.” She said as she began packing her catches in the satchel.

He felt like he’d erred somehow and was about to say something when she swore violently.

“Ow! Vai a fanculo!” she spat angrily as she gingerly touched the end of the fishhook lodged in the meat of her palm. He blinked at the words, not a dialect he recognized.

She hissed threw her teeth as she touched the hook again, but he watched her jaw tighten as she eased the hook out of the wound, dropping it as she tried to staunch the blood from the cut. He started forward as she fell to her knees and with her good hand, threw open the satchel and started searching for something.

“Hey, are you alright?” She pulled out a vial full of something green and wrenched it open with her teeth, dumping the green leaves on the ground.

“Will be soon.” She grunted as she popped a few of the leaves in her mouth and chewed. He frowned as she pulled out the green mass and applied it to the bloody wound with an arrested whine. He watched her curiously. In the moonlight, the wound almost seemed to stop bleeding, but he put that down to the pressure she was also applying.

“What is that?” he finally asked, as she clenched her hand shut around the green leaves.

“A plant known as yarrow. It stops bleeding. _Achillea millefolium_.” She spoke in clipped tones as she somehow managed to pack up what she’d dropped open.

“Do you… want a bandage?” he finally asked. She looked down at her hand before up to him shyly.

“If that wouldn’t be too much trouble?” he nodded and walked towards his house, looking over his shoulder to see if she was following. She was, somehow arranging her catches and her tools to a semblance of neatness that belied the fact she was in pain.

She was lucky that Robin always kept a decent first aid kit under the desk of her shop, and Sebastian was able to quickly return to her from the inside of the shop.

He bound the green stuff to her hand, surprised that the wound had for the most part, stopped seeping blood.

“Do you always carry health potions in your bag?” he asked in a deadpan voice, trying to keep her mind off the wound. To his surprise, she grinned.

“It’s a bag of holding.” He looked up into her face and was surprised to catch her eyes.

They held each other’s gazes.

Her eyes were deep like the ocean, a pool so clear and intense that he couldn’t see the bottom.

She coughed, and the moment broke.

“Thank you for your first aid, and for the seeds.”

“Hey, umm...” he started. She cocked her head to the side as she held his eyes. “I know I’m not as talkative as Sam, I’m sorry if that drove you away.” Her head tipped the other way as she frowned at him.

“I don’t know this Sam, but why would I want you to be anyone that you aren’t?” He was stunned by that assertion and he stepped back as she smiled at him. “Have a good night Sebastian, I hope to see you again.”


	6. Stumbling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memories and old pain resurfaces under stress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I blame Destiny, 7 Days to Die, (which is great fun), and a discord family that I remembered existed.   
> I don't write well with voices talking to me.   
> Its also just been a bitch the past month.  
> Apologies for taking forever. I've been writing using my phone app. Its tough to get the damn thing to spell anything correctly. 
> 
> Thankyou for all the kudos and comments, and I hope you enjoy!

The next day was hot, and as she worked, Fáelán glared periodically at her hand in it’s glove. The hook had done a good job of messing her hand up; so much so that the glove was the safest option. Tetanus was not something she was willing to entertain, and that was generally found in the soil.

She scrubbed her hand across her forehead, wiping away the sweat. She looked longingly at the pond, but decided that the best thing you would be to finish harvesting the small amount of crops that she had. She leaned down to grip her watering can again, and kept going, dousing the soil with moisture and turning it a deep dark brown. It had a fairly good humus content, enriched by years of compost. When she had tested the soil herself, she was surprised to find an A horizon that was so fertile. Despite lacking knowledge of soil science her Sho-sho had managed to keep his farming knowledge for practical use, and it had paid off in the soil. Her parsnips were coming out bright, white and fat. Some of the potatoes were amazing, the kale was deep green and rich, and overall all of the vegetables she seemed to put into the soil appeared happy enough to produce volumes.

After she finished harvesting, watering, and replacing the plants she’d harvested with seeds, she tossed some of the nicest vegetables she picked into a basket. Dipping it in the small lake on her property, she managed to wash away most of the dirt.

She decided, to finally take Mayor Lewis’s suggestion to heart, and finally introduced herself to some of the residents of Pelican Town that she hadn’t yet met. She left the basket of goods on the veranda, and went inside to shower, change, make herself somewhat presentable, and check on the brood of fur balls.

Dropping her work clothes into the hamper as she walked past, she headed for the shower and felt her back crack as she let the heat undo some of the kinks in her system. Wrapping towels around herself and moving to her room, she checked in on the queen and her brood as she got considered what to wear that was slightly nicer than work clothes. For some reason, a mother with kittens was called a queen. She shrugged as she considered that; another of the oddities that went with humans naming nature. Mocha purred when she approached, but didn’t move from the little fuzz balls nursing. Fáelán had ensured that there was nearby food, water and the litter box so that mocha never needed to neglect herself or be far from her little ones. The remains of kibble and fish from the lake were in the bowl, and Fáelán removed the fish before it could start to smell. She’d go fishing for more later.

 _I wonder if she’d like smoked fish?_ Fáelán thought, and then an idea came to her. _I should start smoking fish for me, for those night when I don’t want to cook._ She threw a little note into her phone to transfer to her notebook later, but first she needed to get dressed.

She considered the box of clothing she called a wardrobe once she’d found underwear. Most of what she had was black; a defense mechanism of sorts. Black was indicative of darkness and night, two concepts the psyche had trouble with, which made people who wore them, intimidating. She’d gotten rid of so many of her coloured clothing after quitting Joja.

 _You should wear more colour! Black is so severe_!

Most of what she had left was what hadn’t been touched by his influence, but most of that wasn’t for warm weather. What she did have left for coloured summer clothes was in such a state that she could barely call it clothing, as it tended to qualify more as "rags".

She sighed and sat back on her haunches, staring at the box of clothing in front of her that was in complete disarray. She sighed before she leaned over and grabbed a shirt at random. She kept her eyes shut until she managed to get it on, surprisingly without putting it on inside out, only backwards. The black V-neck tank was decent enough, and would do for a meet and greet.

Her braided hair she pinned into her customary bun; another defense mechanism that. Unbidden, images of people pawing at her back came into her head, and voices followed.   
  
"Oh wow Fáelán ! I love your hair!"  
  
"Girl, how do you get your hair so silky?"  
  
"You should get it cut! It’d be so pretty with layers!  
  
“Fáelán, Fáelán! Fáelán-“

"Enough!" She screamed, her voice ragged at the edges. The phantoms in her head that had been clawing at her hair and back disappeared, leaving only the sound of her beating heart, her heavy panting, and the sound of blood rushing threw her ears.

She was shaking; she could feel herself trembling within her rib cage. She groped for her bed and let herself down as gently as she could. Without anything to hold onto on her other side, she found herself landing on the solid floor with a thump once her legs gave out. She didn’t feel what would probably be a bruise later, only aware of her trembling and the sudden feeling of being cold.

Dimly, she heard mocha mewing at her as she pulled down the poncho she wore as a shawl from her bed and wrapped it around herself.

She shivered, feeling her breathing rate increase and her heart rate with it. Everything was fuzzy around the edges. She got up slowly and pulled down the giant king size blanket from her bed and her pillow. She arranged the blanket and the pillow beside Mocha and lay down beside the cat and her kittens, her head close to her cat. Immediately, Mocha started to groom the hair she had access too, as if she was a kitten herself. Fáelán’s hand drifted up to hold the back of her feline without disturbing her. Her last thought as she fell asleep, clutching her blanket close to her was that socializing could wait.

A few hours later, she rose from the floor. Mocha was sleeping, as were her kittens. She still felt tremors in her system, small ripples she could feel in her fingers and her chest, but they had lessened now. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, feeling her strength and her steadiness return.

She grew aware of a gnawing hunger in her stomach and made her way downstairs to cook an egg or something simple.   
No sooner had she turned on her hotplate then it emitted a loud pop. She blinked. Examining it closer, she saw the old appliance had bitten the dust, the electricity having cracked the screen that informed the user of the current situation. She stared at it for a moment before turning on her kettle and reaching for a bowl and the stash of oats she kept on the shelf beside the counter.

Finally able to eat something, even if it was oats that were boiling hot or partially cooked, she decided that she seriously needed to talk to Robin.  
She needed to get a root cellar, and start putting things away for the winter.

She wondered how much of the historical ways of storing food she knew to pull out of her past in order to ensure she could eat for as cheaply as possible. She remembered the root cellar, and the wine that used to ferment in there... could wine be something she did in order to make money? Would that be a viable option?

What about the clinic in town? Might that be a place that might be interested in natural remedies?

She considered for a moment, staring pensively at the hearth and the embers that still burned, casting shadows that were outlined in soft orange light. Wouldn’t hurt to try right? Unbidden, another voice slithered up to the top of her consciousness where it could hiss poison into her head.

 _Yeah, wouldn’t hurt to try.. like it didn’t hurt to try at home , where the thinking is progressive and the people might be more open to it. Worked like a charm, didn’t it? Wasn’t good enough there, why would these folks think some dirty greenery might work better than pills?_ _You wont last 6 months out here, and you’ll be home sniveling before Winter Star. Like the failure you are..._

She gritted her teeth so hard that her jaw started to ache, repeating the words that had become a mantra.

"You aren’t here, and you can’t hurt me anymore. I won’t fail. I cannot fail." Her bowl to the side, she tossed a log on the orange coals and returned to the couch with her notebook. The ink in her fountain pen was hesitant to coat the page in its colour, it took a few dips in the small cup of water she kept nearby to loosen the ink, before the mildly calligraphic script in ebony violet colour traced itself across the page. She wrote out her mantra at the top of the paper before referring to the list of buildings that Robin had offered to build and their details.

The map of the farm shed sketched the first night was fairly close to scale, and she spent some time contemplating what buildings she wanted where, how much they might grow when upgraded, and what the requirements of their occupants might be. Her pen lid against her lip, she considered what her plan of action should be, glancing around at the fire and the written mantra on her page to assure herself she was still in her Shoshos house in Pelican Town.

Finally she decided that after crops tomorrow, she’d visit and deliver her first thank you gift, spend some time with the occupants if they wished for it, check out the library for food preserving techniques, and go ask for advice from Robin. It was going to be a busy day, but it was doable. The trick to it all, she reminded herself as she pulled her legs up under the blanket, was to do one thing at a time.   
  
She woke herself up yelling in fury from a dream of siblings who wouldn’t stop yelling at her for not being able to do the impossible. Pick up everything without a forklift, while her sister sat watching her from the seat of the forklift. Brothers yelling intermittently at each other and then her and her youngest brother yelling about perceived slights she had done him, intermingled with insults and blustering. The second oldest brother telling her to shut up whenever she tried to defend herself at all. Sister telling her she’s accident prone because whenever work needs be done, she sits and waits for someone else to do it, while Fáelán just does it, often getting hurt in the process.

Joja had been ugly before she worked there; presenting its own unique variety of the infernal abyss, but her siblings had tormented her to a place where even the hell she knew Joja to be, looked like a reprieve.

She found herself glaring at her coffee machine as it percolated. Her mind was back with her dream.   
The anger didn’t go away as she sat and drank the black liquid and waited for her oats to be soft enough to eat. It sat in between her ribs, a burning hole that exuded pressure that wouldn’t release, no matter how many sighs she tried to use to free her lungs.

It was hard NOT to blame them for the hell she’d endured. They’d pushed her away from working with her parents, broken her will, sanity and steel core enough that Joja looked like a respite. What happened at Joja though... that they couldn’t be blamed for. Bur it was hard not to want too, to associate some of the blame with them despite her logical mind saying otherwise.

A growl from upstairs broke her train of thought and she frowned, taking the stairs two at a time. Mocha didn’t growl, had never in the time shed been at NightShade, growled, not even when she gave birth. So to hear her be growling now was more than disconcerting. Rounding the edge of her room, she saw Mocha advancing on something shed trapped in the corner. Fáelán looked at what it was, and frowned.

A tiny, bouncing... _apple?_

It was small, and green. Little arms waving in the air as it bounced. Fáelán shut her eyes. Great, now she was losing her marbles too. She pinched her arm, hard and took a deep breath. She heard the low lyrical chest noise that cats made when they’re telling something to back off, and decided that if it was still there when she opened her eyes, she’d rescue it and question her sanity later.

Opening her eyes, she saw Mocha advancing, and the tiny creature was still there. She swept in and grasped the thing gently, clicking her tongue softly as well.

"No Mocha, this isn’t food." Mocha sat down and started licking her paw innocently before accepting a few chin scritches and returning to her youngsters.

Carrying her tiny bundle down the stairs and back to breakfast, Fáelán stared at the tiny apple nestled in her hand. Green and round with sticks for arms and legs.

"I think, little friend, that next time you should probably find a better place to appear than beside mama kitty. Mocha is pretty protective of her family." She set it down gently in front of her bowl, staring at it.

"You are... real, aren’t you? I’m not hallucinating ?" It squeaked what she hoped was an affirmative. They stared at each other across her finally soft oats. "Would you.. Like some breakfast?" She asked. "I don’t have much, and I don’t know what you’d eat, but would you like some anyway?" She indicated the bowl of oats in front of her. It wasn’t exactly boring, but it was filling. It was filled with oats with hot water and coffee to flavor it; cinnamon, flax seed and honey for taste and sweetness. Once, in her school days, almonds would have been a common ingredient, but with growers in California and Turkey pulling up their orchards due to lack of water to grow them with, almonds were a luxury now. If you were pouring every penny into seeds that would hopefully bring enough money to feed yourself in winter, almonds could wait.   
The little apple tried some of the food offered from her spoon. Apparently it was approved of as the apple began bouncing and emitting happy sounding squeaks. Fáelán found herself chuckling as she got a large spoon to serve as a bowl for her guest. She also found a small demitasse cup that had been left in the house that she poured some of her precious coffee into as well, stirring into it a small amount of the special hazelnut cream she loved and pinched pennies to afford for her tiny companion. She put both of her offerings before her guest and watched as it delicately consumed the oats. When it came to the coffee, it hesitated. "You don’t have too if you don’t like it." She began as it suddenly picked up the cup and drained it dry. "Alright then."

She offered the creature more, but it appeared to shake its head? Did this sort of creature have a head?  Instead, it appeared to have its own agenda. It hopped over to the leftover mail and paper shed pushed back to the end of her table and began hopping up and down on a page. _Paf paf paf_ , the sound of the impact it made drew the corners of her mouth upwards. She sipped at her coffee, her gaze over the top of her cup still watching the little green creature. It appeared annoyed. Crossing little stick arms and tapping a foot, it strode over to her hand as she set it on the table, picked up a bead on her bracelet and trying to drag her hand to the letter it was bouncing on. The bracelet was fragile, and she frowned as she drew her hand back. The apple walked over and pointed at the letter.

She lifted it, and reread the letter from the Wizard.

A million thoughts went through her mind at once, and in her mind’s eye, she watched the processes overwhelm itself before she saw what once been a common sight when her browser of requirement was internet explorer. "This process has encountered an illegal error and will be shut down."

She scrubbed her hands across her eyes before leaning on her hands for a moment. Her alarm abruptly sounded, and she scrambled to silence it. The irritating noise usually brought her back to reality and she embraced the property now by keeping her eyes shut for a moment. She took a few deep breaths before she opened them again.

The apple was still there, its stick arms crossed and its little foot tapping. It appeared cross with her.

Abruptly she rose and gathered the dishes for washing. Coffee residue in her mug she didn’t care about, but oatmeal was a bitch to get off bowls once it had dried. Something normal to get her mind onto, something to prove to herself she wasn’t insane.

_You insane bitch!_

_S_ he gritted her teeth and paused, wrist deep in soapy water. This was in the past. It couldn’t affect her now. Here she was safe. But she couldn’t fail.

She turned back to the table and the apple, (which was most certainly still there) noticing her glance, began hopping on the letter again. _Paf paf paf_. She turned back to the dishes, washing with practiced automatic ease. She set the clean bowls aside, and wiped the demitasse cup gently before replacing it and the saucer in the cupboard. She drained he sink and turned back to the apple, which began to leap again. Ignoring it, she gathered what shed need for the day. Refocusing her mind on the events she had planned from the day before.

She strode outside, and walked over to her tools. Walking down the stairs of the veranda, she heard a loud chirp and turned back to the door.

The apple stood there, looking very cross and it peeped at her, letting out a series of noises that sounded like bells in the wind. Leveling a glare at it, her hand shot out cat quick and firmly but gently grasped the apple to bring it close to her.

“Look little apple, hallucination or not, I’ve got responsibilities today. I’ve people to thank, and food to gather if I want to eat. If I’m not careful I’ll be on the edge of starvation soon as I’ve no way to really store anything for long term, and no way to cook it for preservation anyway. I can’t fail. I’ve got a little family that’s relying on me." She took a few breaths, letting her fear go with each exhale before she fixed her gaze on the apple that sat still in her hand. "Can your request wait until tomorrow?" She asked. The apple appeared to consider before she watched it make the same motion as earlier. The one shed interpreted as a nod.

"Good." She set the little green thing down and went off to weed and water her crops.


	7. Meetings, Research & An Invitation

Her crops were watered; the weeds had been chucked into the compost pile, which needed to be turned. She added the note to her book as she considered what she wished to take with her.

She’d fished for the kittens, Mocha would have fillet when she wanted it. She was washed, and was considering her satchel. She had her blade, always so useful when she didn’t know what plants to expect, her notebook, the tote bag full of home grown veggies for the first house past Marnie’s, her map and the sandals if she needed them. She tried to think if there was anything else she would need. She tossed everything back into the old black leather shoulder bag and set it by the door before observing her own reflection, trying to see herself as an outsider might. She decided that she looked like a farmer might, and that was satisfying enough.

Walking back outside, she grabbed her tote bag of clean vegetables and reached for her satchel. Hefting it over her shoulder, she caught sight of a round green object in one of the disused pockets. She reached over and hauled the bag so that the pocket was level with her eyes.

"You can’t come with me, what if someone sees you?" The apple chirped and buried itself deeper in the leather. If she didn’t know better, it would have just looked like a green apple. But she still felt some misgivings.

"I will stuff you in my bag if I think you might be discovered, or in danger. Better your discomfort than being found out. ... Unless you want to be found out?" She shook her head and gave the apple a stern look from over her sunglasses. "Deal?" The little apple seemed to nod.

The day was warm and sunny. She picked her way carefully down the as of yet unused land at the base of her farm and found the pathway that lead down to the lake. A few birds twittered from the trees, but otherwise all she could hear was the sounds of nature and the padding of her feet over grass and hard earth.

It was peaceful, and she found herself staring over the lake as she stood from picking a stray daffodil. This lake wasn’t as full of memories as the small pond on the farm was, but she still remembered it. She decided to continue onward to the house past Marnie’s ranch. Marnie was still on the list of course, but she’d already been introduced to her, not the house that her map indicated housed Sam, Vincent, Jodi and Kent. She continued onward, smiling subtly at the sound of the river as it washed over rocks beside her. Ahead she saw a young lady with pinned back red hair. The blouse she wore was pretty but patched, and she knocked on the door that Fáelán was headed for. Fáelán swallowed and stopped, hanging back but still in sight of the door.

She knew she was going to meet people, that was kind of the point of this meet and greet thing, but people were scary. Hadn’t Joja taught her that? That those who you liked would toss you down when you didn’t fit the way they wanted you too, and even family could hardly be trusted more often than not? What made her think that Pelican Town was any different?

Without noticing, her knuckles had gone white and she was beginning to shake as she clutched the tote bag. A small peep caught her attention and she looked down at her bag. The little apple had poked out its head and was tapping her on the hand with its stick arm. She still didn’t speak apple, but imagined that it was trying to reassure her. She took a deep breath and gave it a half smile.

"Hello Miss Fáelán!" She heard, and despite herself her mood brightened. She stepped forward towards the gathering at the door.

"Good morning Vincent," she replied before she was immediately interrupted.

"Miss Penny, have you met Miss Fáelán?" The boy asked, and the pretty redhead looked up shyly. That was a look Fáelán recognized, and she felt a kinship with this lady.

"No, I haven’t yet." Vincent smiled as Fáelán approached tentatively, and as she watched, he squared his shoulders. She hid a smile, a young gentleman who saw an opportunity to conduct himself as one was always adorable to watch.

"Miss Penny, may I introduce Miss Fáelán, she likes flowers." Fáelán hid a smile behind her hand as Vincent turned to her. "Miss Penny is my teacher to me'n Jas! She’s my friend."

"Jas and I, Vincent" Penny corrected gently. Fáelán could see the caring way that this lady used to teach, and her anxiety eased some. Penny straightened and put out her hand. Fáelán shook it.

"You’re the new farmer?" Her grip was gentle but firm, her hands soft. Fáelán felt rough and tumble compared to this prim and proper professional teacher.

"In name so far, I’m not sure that id be considered much of a farmer yet."

"But you are the heir to the farm above Marnie’s?"

"Yes." Penny smiled at her answer, and it was like watching a small flower bloom. Fáelán found herself responding in kind.

"Then I suppose that makes you a farmer in some fashion, yes?" Fáelán arched a brow at her.

"I can understand why you’d be a good teacher."

"I like to hope." Penny answered shyly. They were interrupted by a flustered voice approaching beside them.

"Vincent, I’m coming dear, there’s no need to hurry me!" They both turned to see a strawberry blond lady in a pink cardigan approaching. Vincent broke away from where it appeared he’d been pulling her.

"See mom? It’s the new farmer, Miss Fáelán!"

"New farmer? She ventured off the farm finally?" Fáelán heard another voice from inside the house beside the lady who was probably Vincent’s mother and felt her cheeks flush. She clenched her jaw to give herself a sensation to steady herself. She could do this. She held out the bag of veggies in front of her to the lady who was now at the door.

"I wanted to thank you for whatever you donated to my house to make it livable and I wanted to give you these veggies as thanks." All the words tumbled out in a garble, and there was a slight pause as the lady digested what she had said, Fáelán felt her ears go pink as well. So much for presenting a decent first impression. She felt fingers open the bag and pull out a parsnip.

"These are lovely!" Vincent’s mother sounded genuinely pleased, and Fáelán lowered her arms a little. The lady was smiling at her. "Would you like to come in for some coffee while I wash these vegetables and you can have your bag back?"

"Yes!" Vincent answered for her and Penny shushed him. Fáelán swallowed.

"I’d like that." Vincent beamed at her and tried to follow them in but was stopped by Penny.

"We have to get to the library, Jas will be by soon and we’ve got studies to do today." Vincent’s shoulders fell.

"Yes Miss Penny." He grumbled. His mom had already taken the tote she’d brought inside, and Fáelán remembered what she had picked earlier. She handed him a daffodil as she wiped her feet on the doormat and grinned as his face split into a smile. "Thank you!" He said brightly as he ran off with the flower, leaving Penny to grab his backpack from just inside the door that Fáelán entered and closed, waving to Penny as she went after Vincent.

"How do you take your coffee dear?" Asked the lady that she assumed was Jodi, pulling out a generic mug.

"Just with some sugar please." She answered, standing awkwardly at the entrance to the kitchen. She felt something brush past her as a tall guy about her own age walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup as well. He headed to the fridge and topped it off with so much milk she was surprised there was any coffee left.

"Do you want some cream?" He asked before he put it away. She eyed the container dubiously. It didn’t appear very full.

"I’m not sure I’d like to finish your milk for you." The lady at the counter spun round to the fridge, her hands on her hips.

"Samson, did you finish the milk again?" The tall blond, Samson, looked at the milk container and sloshed the small amount in the bottom.

"Not all of it", He answered guiltily. She shook her head, a long suffering look on her face. Seeing Fáelán still at the door, she beckoned her in.

"Come in dear. My name is Jodi; I know you’ve met Vincent already, and my other son Samson." She gestured at the milk thief. He came toward her, hand outstretched.

"Sam when I’m not in trouble." He introduced himself.  She shook his hand and arched an eyebrow at him.

“Do you always find yourself in trouble?” he gave her a sheepish grin.

“Only when I finish the milk.” He said wryly.

“Is that the situation that happens often?”

“More than you know,” Jodi grumbled from the counter.  Sam shrugged.

“What can I say?  I like milk.”

They finally managed to get sitting down at the table, each of them with a cup of coffee.  Fáelán sat through them normal pleasantries, why she had come, why she had given up a life in the city for a small town life on a farm, how the farming was, what kind of difficulty she might be having, and other such things she had expected to be asked.  She didn’t give away much, but found herself relaxing in the company of Jodi and Sam.  Both of them were warm and inviting, and she suddenly understood why Vincent was so adorable. 

“I like your earrings Jodi,” she said suddenly, noticing the green rectangles hanging at her ears.  Jodi blushed, and put a hand to her lobes.

“I forgot I was wearing these, I found them at Pierre’s.” Fáelán grinned.

“They look good on you.”

“They’re good for everyday wear, I think there made of glass.” Fáelán looked closer and nodded.

“They are, a specific type of fire hardened glass, as well as some Indian glass.” Jodi frowned at the assertion.

“Are you familiar with theses beads?” Fáelán’s look was mischievous.

“I would think so, I made them.”

“You make jewelry?” Jodi asked, and then launched into a discussion about that.  She told Fáelán stories about some of the beautiful jewelry she had been given by her husband Kent, and was even kind enough to show her.  Sam rolled his eyes having heard many of the stories before, but was glad that his mother was so animated about the beautiful things she had.

Eventually with Fáelán’s fear of people not entirely abated, but having waned, she took her leave, meaning to go check out the library.

She made her way through the town, and across the bridge before she stopped dead in her tracks.  The building in front of her looked too familiar.  The blue coloring was enough to close her throat from the memories that surfaced.  Her lip twitched, wanting to curl back into a snarl, but she held her expression neutral.  Joja spread, a toxic growth on the land, even here it was infecting, and she wanted to burn it into ashes before it could spread further.  Fighting back a wave of nausea, she turned her back on the blue store and headed south to the library.

The inside of the building was cool, and smelled of old books.  Her muscles released their tension, and she found herself relaxing.  She nodded at the librarian, and made her way to a table beside Penny, Jas and Vincent.  Noticing her, the boy looked up and waived excitedly.  She grinned and waved back before setting down her satchel, and falling into the comfortable focus that accompanied research.

Her first forays into researching food preservation required far too much technology for what she had on hand.  A food dehydrator was ridiculously advanced when you didn’t even have a hotplate to boil water with.  Canning would be helpful as well, and while she was sure she probably had all the bottles for it, she didn’t know if her small campfire would be big enough to handle that.  Jams and jellies were always a good option, but the last time she had made jelly it hadn’t set.  Pectin was a substance she wasn’t familiar with.

Drying was still an option, as was smoking, and she scribbled down instructions on how this could be done in a notebook she brought for the occasion.  Her best bet, she decided, was still the root cellar that she was sure still existed and putting food in there.  That said, smoking and drying sounded like an excellent backup for anything she could get her hands on.  Collecting her notebook, and returning the books she had borrowed, she made her way out of the library and up towards Robins.

The sun was high in the sky, and the weather was pleasant.  She made her way across the bridge and up beside the dilapidated community center.  She skimmed over her notes as she walked, collaborating between both notebooks.  She was surprised that she didn’t knock into anyone as she made her way to Robin’s door and knocked.  An adult voice sounded from within, but it wasn’t the one she expected. Frowning, she opened the door to see Lewis in conversation with Robin.

“Good afternoon Fáelán!” he greeted her cheerfully. Robin gave him a sour look behind the desk that was her storefront.

“Lewis, she is my guest. Perhaps you would allow me to greet her?”  Fáelán expected the mayor to blush, but found that he did not. Instead, he just waved a hand at the carpenter before continuing. “I’m just checking in on the local businesses in town, so I should probably let you two get on with the day.” He made his way to the door.

“Have a good day ladies!” he said as he left.

“You too Sir” Fáelán responded without thinking. She took a breath, and then looked up to see Robin eyeing her narrowly.

“Are you going to start calling me ‘Ma’am’ then?” Fáelán blinked.

“I can’t call you ma’am, you don’t own a brothel.” she responded without thinking. Robin stared for a moment, and Fáelán sucked in a breath, suddenly aware of how rude that might sound. She was beginning to second guess and formulate an apology when Robin broke out in a full laugh.

“I like that! You’re a sharp wit Fáelán; that was good!” she was still chucking as Fáelán approached the counter looking hesitant, but sporting a small smile. “What can I do for you dear?”

“Actually, I need some advice if you had some time.” The lady considered her for a moment before nodding.

“Let’s go have some coffee and talk it over.” She gestured to the kitchen.

She hadn’t meant to let her fears take over, but as the coffee was poured she found herself relaxing in the atmosphere that Robin created around her. It was easy to keep her secrets, and Robin made it easy to talk about the world, and Pelican Town, things that were safe. Unfortunately, she was also perceptive.

“Alright girlie, spill.” She said, looking over at Fáelán who was midway through a sip of coffee. Fáelán set the cup down and tilted her head to the side. Robin’s piercing gaze didn’t soften, but it was still probing.

Reluctantly, Fáelán began. She explained the hotplate situation, the fact she didn’t have much to serve as food storage, and her fear that she’d end up starving before winter. She hid her fear, but the worry she had about the situation was fairly plain to see. Robin considered for a moment, her lips pursed.

“I don’t want any handouts,” she said suddenly. “Nothing I can’t pay back. But I want to be successful, and I might need to live off something more than just fish and greens over winter.”

“I can help with that.” Robin responded.

They scratched out a plan on a sheet of paper, brainstorming together what could be done and how she could manage to store and cook her food. They decided to meet tomorrow to see if Robin couldn’t lend her aid in finding the elusive root cellar that may or may not still be in the house.

A good hour of planning later, they both reclined in the chairs as Fáelán bundled up her notes into her satchel again.

“Would you like to stay for supper?” Robin asked. Fáelán barely managed to make the sudden rigidity of her spine appear normal. She gave a polite smile before she declined graciously, citing her feline family requiring of being checked on. Robin nodded; a slight grin to the corner of her mouth as she let the young lady leave.

Fáelán wandered down to the side pathway that led to the farm when a voice stopped her.

“How’s your hand?” the voice asked. Fáelán stopped and tried not to let on that she hadn’t heard the owner of the voice behind her.

“Sore.” She said, showing the still bandage wrapped palm. She hadn’t turned around yet, but did to show him the actually bandaged side of her hand. He didn’t touch her, but stepped forward to examine her bandaging.

“So your leafy stuff didn’t poison you.” Sebastian stated dryly. She gave him a slight frown as she observed him.

“I don’t normally use stuff that poisons me?”

“Most people don’t start to treat a wound with leaves.”

“Most people get wounded with decent sized bandages around.” He raised an eyebrow.

“I had bandages.”

“I didn’t know that when the hook grabbed my hand. I improvised.”

“So I noticed.”

They stared at each other. She cleared her throat surreptitiously.

“Thank you for your assistance with that.” He shrugged in response. They were silent for a moment or so, before she looked over at him and they tried to speak at the same time.

“Why were you-“

“I was just-“

They paused and gave each other shy smiles.

“What were you going to say?” she asked. Grey eyes met hers as he considered her a moment.

“What were you doing in this neck of the woods?”

“Visiting your mum actually, I wanted some advice.”

“Oh?” The eyebrow was raised again, and he regarded her curiously. She brushed the back of her neck shyly, like she was embarrassed to admit whatever summoned her to see his mother. She explained why, briefly. She distinctly left out that she was almost out of food, and didn’t know what to do when winter would come.

She wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not that he picked up on it anyway.

“So… do you want to come for supper?” he asked. She grinned.

“Your mum asked the same actually.”

“So why don’t you? We’re having steak.” He drew out the last word to see if it would entice her.

Fáelán’s stomach growled at the idea. She hadn’t had beef in _ages._ Putting aside her fear for the idea of a decent meal that didn’t involve fish, she took a breath and dived in head first.

“Alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I still live. Thank you for sticking with me this long ^^   
> Thank you to those who just come for the story, and those who comment or leave kudos!
> 
> So..my parents are retiring... and they're shutting down the company that I've been working at since I was 12... and playing at since I was 2.   
> Which is fine, cause they need a break.. but I've been busy... considering that all of our clients are suddenly ordering enough to last them until after Christmas, when they suddenly have to deal with companies that don't want to work, and just want to be in the office all day. *ahem*   
> So I haven't had much energy to write. Trying to change that ^^  
> Thanks for reading again, and if you have any ideas/questions/etc, dont hesitate to speak up!


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